AGROECOLOGY
Enhancement and Conservation

OVERVIEW

Caliata is notable for its biodiversity and sustainable capacity to ensure the food security of its residents. In a recent assessment of ten selected sites, we documented a total of 165 species that are used either as food, animal feed, medicine or materials for agrarian activities. People in Caliata are smallholders (74.8% of residents have access to less than one hectare of land) and rely on rainwater to produce a variety of Andean crop varieties. For centuries, people in Caliata have practiced traditional forms of soil fertilization and pest control.

Currently, industrial agriculture – based in monocultures, agro-chemicals and mechanized plowing – is threatening their agri-food system and the sustainability of the community agro-ecosystem. This type of agriculture will intensify processes of erosion and  weather events typical of the area such as heavy rains, droughts, strong winds and hailstorms.

Our project seeks to implement permaculture and agroecology principles to revitalize and protect Caliata’s biodiversity and ancestral knowledge.

GOAL

To work with agro-ecology and permaculture principles to revitalize and promote the traditional ecological knowledge and biodiversity of Caliata.