Project History

Fundación Allpa Tarpuna was born as a community-based and socio-environmental initiative focused on the recovery of ancestral knowledge, food sovereignty, and the regeneration of rural territories in Ecuador. The project emerged through direct work with Indigenous and farming communities facing challenges such as the loss of native seeds, ecosystem degradation, water scarcity, and the decline of traditional cultural practices. Since its beginning, the foundation has promoted participatory processes based on agroecology, permaculture, and community strengthening, combining ancestral knowledge with sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life of rural families.

Our Mission

Our mission is to strengthen and empower Indigenous and farming communities through processes of environmental and social regeneration, promoting food sovereignty, the conservation of ancestral seeds, sustainable water management, and the recovery of traditional cultural practices. We work to build resilient and sustainable territories in harmony with nature, strengthening community autonomy and the protection of biodiversity for future generations.

Background and Problem Statement

Indigenous and rural farming communities across several regions of Ecuador, especially in the provinces of Pichincha, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and the Amazon region, face multiple challenges related to climate change, environmental degradation, soil fertility loss, water scarcity, and the progressive disappearance of native seeds and ancestral knowledge. In addition, many rural families have limited economic opportunities and little access to sustainable technical training processes.

The expansion of conventional and extractive agricultural models has created dependency on external inputs, biodiversity loss, and negative impacts on ecosystems and water sources. This has also affected the cultural identity and traditional food and production systems of the communities.

Opportunity

There is a significant opportunity to strengthen sustainable community processes through the recovery of ancestral knowledge and the implementation of regenerative practices adapted to each territory. Communities possess strong potential to lead ecological restoration, seed conservation, sustainable water management, and agroecological production processes when they receive appropriate support, training, and implementation tools.

Through this project, we seek to expand the impact of our actions across different communities in Ecuador by creating spaces for learning, organizational strengthening, and practical solutions that contribute to climate resilience, food security, and local economic development.

How We Regenerate

We promote processes of environmental and social regeneration through the implementation of biofilters for access to clean water, water management projects applying Keyline design to improve water infiltration and conservation, ecological restoration, and bioconstruction systems using natural and sustainable materials. We also promote agroecological gardens, community seed banks, and spaces for the exchange of ancestral knowledge.

As a foundation, we believe that Indigenous and farming communities hold deep knowledge about the management of land, water, seeds, and biodiversity. Our work does not seek to impose external models or teach from a top-down perspective, but rather to accompany and strengthen community processes so that communities themselves can recover, value, and reclaim ownership of their ancestral knowledge, especially knowledge that is being lost or has already partially disappeared due to social, economic, and environmental changes.

A fundamental part of our work is creating spaces for collective learning, exchange of experiences, and community strengthening through workshops, training sessions, and technical support in agroecology, permaculture, environmental restoration, sustainable land management, and the strengthening of rural bioenterprises. In this way, we seek to strengthen community autonomy, cultural identity, and the capacity of communities to regenerate their territories and build sustainable livelihoods for future generations.

Impact Monitoring

The project’s impact will be monitored through social, environmental, and productive indicators such as the number of families benefited, hectares restored, water systems implemented, seeds conserved, and people trained. Community participation, the recovery of ancestral knowledge, and improvements in food security and climate resilience among participating communities will also be evaluated.

In addition, community visits, participatory evaluation processes, and documentation of experiences will be carried out to ensure the sustainability and replicability of the implemented actions.

Our Experience

Fundación Allpa Tarpuna has experience in agroecology, permaculture, ancestral seed conservation, environmental restoration, and community strengthening processes. We have developed workshops, courses, and technical support programs in Indigenous and rural farming communities, promoting sustainable gardens, the recovery of native seeds, ecological land management, and environmental education.

The foundation has also worked on rural bioenterprise initiatives, native plant production, and organizational strengthening, creating spaces for learning and knowledge exchange among farmers, women, youth, and Indigenous communities across Ecuador.