Indigenous worldviews and Western conventions: Sumak Kawsay and cocoa production in Ecuadorian Amazonia

Coq-Huelva, Daniel; Torres, Bolier; Bueno-Suárez, Carlos

doi:10.1007/s10460-017-9812-x

Cited by 31 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 122 publications

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“…These trends are fairly similar to those found in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon Region [37,39,41] and by Vasco et al [52] and Lerner et al [53] in the central and southern Ecuadorian Amazon Region, respectively. For most of the Kichwa population, the "Chakra" system is the most common traditional agroforestry system [48,51,54,55]. It is characterized by its high level of biodiversity and high number of timber-yielding and fruit trees [48,51,56,57].…”

Section: Study Area and Agricultural Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A possible explanation is that the Kichwa population continues to maintain their traditional agroforestry practices based on subsistence agriculture [74]. They do so by using the "chakra," a traditional agroforestry system, characterized not only as a polyculture [48,56] but also for its high floristic diversity [51,54,75]. Land size is an important factor influencing the H crop_area and NCS in the SBR.…”

Section: Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Agricultural Diversificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In conjunction with the establishment of "live fences" and implementation of the best management practices to transition Livestock-based LS into a more sustainable low-emission management systems, with potential enrolments in REDD+ programs [53] and a reduced-emission agricultural policy [86]; (c) The fact that crops contribute to more than 40% of income and are still largely part of the traditional "chakra" system, we recommend considering this aspect in the redirection of agricultural incentives in the EAR to reward the sustainable traditional agricultural system [55]. This is because chakra provides a plethora of ecosystem services [87] and is, characterized by having a high number of timber-yielding and fruit trees [48,51,56,57,75], edible and medicinal plants [51,54], leaf litter restoration and a minimization process of water erosion compared to monocultures and pastures [70]. Thus, the chakra system is an example of the use of sustainable production to combat biodiversity loss and climate change for small-scale farmers [48,49,51].…”

Section: Policy Implication For More Sustainable Production Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of Agricultural Diversification in a Hotspot Area: Evidence from Colonist and Indigenous Communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

et al. 2018

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With data from a household survey covering migrant settlers and indigenous (Kichwa) communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (SBR), this study analyses the drivers of agricultural diversification/specialisation, focusing on the role of ethnicity and the livelihood strategies (LS) they follow. Data were collected using the Poverty and Environment Network methodology of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR-PEN). In order to establish the drivers of agricultural diversification, the number of crops and the Shannon index of crops areas were used as the dependent variables in ordinary least square (OLS) models, while a multinomial logit model (MLM) was used to assess a household's degree of diversification. The results of the OLS regression provides evidence supporting the notion that households, with Livestock-based and Wage-based livelihood strategies (LS) are less diversified and more specialized than households with Crop-based LS. Ethnicity has a positive and significant effect on agricultural diversification, with Kichwa farms more diversified than those of their migrant colonist counterparts. The results of the multinomial logit model (MLM) show that large Kichwa households, with Crop-based and Forest-based LS are more likely to adopt a highly diversified agricultural strategy. Based on these findings, we recommend a redirection of agricultural incentives, towards the adoption of diversified agricultural systems, as a strategy to promote more sustainable production systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region.

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Section: Study Area and Agricultural Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Agricultural Diversificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policy Implication For More Sustainable Production Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of Agricultural Diversification in a Hotspot Area: Evidence from Colonist and Indigenous Communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

et al. 2018

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“…In addition, the increase in the revenues is one of the major elements of transformation of the systems of farm management. For instance, chakra's cocoa is increasingly introduced in specific quality strands associated to the reception of premium prices [88]. In addition, families have progressively new sources of income outside farms, even though the situation is very different in the analysed communities.…”

Section: Subsystems Of Organisation and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-Evolution and Bio-Social Construction: The Kichwa Agroforestry Systems (Chakras) in the Ecuadorian Amazonia

et al. 2017

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Polycultured agrarian systems in Ecuadorian Amazonia (also called chakras or swollen gardens) are characterised by a market-oriented crop for the generation of monetary income, for example, cocoa, other agricultural products (e.g., banana and cassava), and livestock for family farm consumption. Moreover, a chakra is an outstanding example of agroforestry production, in which ecological, social and economic elements co-evolve from a set of close and strong connections. In this context, the conservation and transformation of their biological subsystems can be understood as the result of complex interactions between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic factors. In turn, such interactions are essential to provide food and monetary income to the indigenous community. Relevant agency capabilities exist that could cause an agroforestry system to take a different path of co-evolution, that is, towards greater or lesser sustainability associated with different levels of complexity. In conclusion, chakras have key ecological features that can mitigate the impact of human population growth in Amazonia. Additionally, chakras have their own processes of social self-regulation which enhance the possibilities of adaptation of Kichwa communities to changing environmental conditions, being essential elements in local food sovereignty, equitable gender relations and the respect of ancestral wisdom.

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“…Thus, Amasanga is "essential for understandings interconnections amongst different sets of elements (social, natural, spiritual)" (ibid.). Nunghui, according to Coq-Huelva et al (2018), is the spirit of things that are made, or nurtured, by humanssuch as gardens or handicrafts. Vitally, this concept is also associated with equilibrium and stability.…”

Section: Sumak Kawsay and The Ecuadorian Constitutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Andean Indigenous Sustainable Development

MacNeill

2020

Indigenous Cultures and Sustainable Development in Latin America

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The most politically forceful, and institutionally integrated, form of indigenous sustainable development in Latin America has emerged in the Andean region—especially in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Although this region is home to multiple indigenous cultures, much weight is given to the Kechwa concept of Sumak Kawsay (living well). Owing to the power of the local indigenous movement, the idea has been most completely incorporated in Ecuador—where it is the central theme of the country’s most recent constitution. The Andean case study allows us to observe indigenous sustainable development in its most advanced form. The Ecuadorian example at once provides home for indigenous development, and a cautionary tale of its implementation.

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Indigenous worldviews and Western conventions: Sumak Kawsay and cocoa production in Ecuadorian Amazonia

Cited by 31 publications

References 122 publications

Determinants of Agricultural Diversification in a Hotspot Area: Evidence from Colonist and Indigenous Communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

Determinants of Agricultural Diversification in a Hotspot Area: Evidence from Colonist and Indigenous Communities in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

Co-Evolution and Bio-Social Construction: The Kichwa Agroforestry Systems (Chakras) in the Ecuadorian Amazonia

Andean Indigenous Sustainable Development

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