Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Foodways in the Andes of Peru Cover Image

Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Foodways in the Andes of Peru
Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Foodways in the Andes of Peru

Author(s): Mariaelena Huambachano
Subject(s): Agriculture, Human Ecology, Sociology of Culture, Environmental interactions
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK); Indigenous food ways; Food Security; food sovereignty; Quechua people;

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the Quechua peoples’ food systems as seen through traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) lens and reflects on the vital role of Indigenous peoples’ knowledge for global food security. Data was collected from two Quechua communities, Choquecancha and Rosaspata, in the highlands of Peru, from March 2016 to August 2018. This data was collected via participatory action research, talking circles with female farmers, oral history interviews with elders, and Indigenous gatherings at chakras with community leaders and local agroecologists. Analysis of this data suggests that Quechua people’s in-depth and locally rooted knowledge concerning food security provides an Indigenous-based theoretical model of food sovereignty for the revitalization of Indigenous foodways and collective rights to food rooted in often under-recognised aspects of their Indigeneity and TEK.

  • Issue Year: 12/2019
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 87-110
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: English