Sustainable livelihoods for rural Andean farmers

In the past year, Ecohuella farm has been making so many amazing strides to support farmers through workshops and capacity building. It's been one year since the inaugeration of the educational space and bio-intensive workshop that hosted 50 farmers. Times are looking a little different now, but the vision is still strong. With time, Ecohuella will continue to grown and expand. Campesino farmers will know that Ecohuella is a space to learn, experiment, connect, and share. 

Even though Ecohuella has not been able to host campesino farmers for the past six months, it is becoming even more crystal clear... what Ecohuella teaches, they also implement. What they implement shows that they are a living example of the potential of using traditional and organic farming methods. During the pandemic, we have observed a couple of important notes about this project: 

Ecohuella is a leading example of what is possible during times of uncertainty

1. Ecohuella is sustainable and self-efficient which is an example to showcase to any farmer that attends a workshop or capacity building at Ecohuella in the future. 
2. Ecohuella is becoming known as the local seed guardians with a seed-saving bank. They have a variety of seeds that are organic and heirloom, which means that the plants will be able to produce more seeds. This in turn will break the cycle of dependency on buying hybrid non-producing seeds annually.
3. Ecohuella continues to make partnerships and local connections which makes them profitable. 

This shows that what Ecohuella is doing is working! This is great news for when Ecohuella can continue to connect with campesino farmers in their educational space. Sharing experiences of this time will only just highlight Ecohuella's resiliency and commitment. 

As with every community in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has reached us here in the Sacred Valley. The Peruvian government has mandated a strict quarantine, curfew, and regional travel ban. We at the Andean Alliance have pivoted to the best of our abilities and continue working every day to plan and support the Andean communities in whatever way we can.

An unexpected impact of the quarantine has been a "reverse migration" from the cities to the communities. People who had left the communities in search of improved economic opportunities are gradually returning home, often on foot, to pass the quarantine in the relative security of these isolated agricultural communities. With more people to help on the farms, some farmers are cultivating land that they haven't used in years.

We have also seen a noticable increase in the "Ayni" culture that has been gradually diminishing for more than a decade. Ayni is an ancient practice involving a community-wide exchange of manual labor, especially during the maize harvest. While we can't visit the communities as we used to, we have been fortunate enough to participate in some of the maize harvest alongside our Ecohuella partners. Check out some of the photos from the Ayni's and the last few months!