Cotopaxi | Chakra Of The Amazon
In October 2023, we traveled to the Ecuadorian Amazon to visit ALIADOS, an impact partner of the Cotopaxi Foundation. On our trip, we discovered how ALIADOS is helping to protect Indigenous communities and the rainforest through an ancient regenerative farming technique known as "chakra."
ALIADOS is helping to support a community cooperative called Ally Guayusa as it uses the chakra technique to sustainably and ethically cultivate crops like guayusa tea leaves, macambo seeds, and heirloom jungle peanuts. Not only does ALIADOS support farmers in growing these crops, but it also supports the community in processing these crops and bringing them to market.
In this short video, Ally Guayusa administrator Glenda Andy shares why chakra farming is important to protecting the rainforest, and we meet her mother Luduvina, who passed down this agricultural method to her. We also hear the story of a community leader named Maria who is fighting to reject monoculture practices and harmful pesticides to return to their chakra roots.
Learn more about the Cotopaxi Foundation here: https://www.cotopaxi.com/pages/our-im...
Learn more about the Cotopaxi Foundation's nonprofit partner ALIADOS here: https://www.losaliados.org/