Although some 20 percent of Ecuador's territory is classified as protected land, biodiversity is threatened in many areas. In the south-east of the country, the indigenous Shuar and Achuar peoples are attempting to preserve their biodiverse enclave by means of a small boarding school.
The students learn how to cultivate and process traditional fruit and vegetables and medicinal plants and spices. They carry their knowledge back to their home communities and these interchange their seeds and seedlings. In doing so, they conserve their food diversity and also preserve part of their cultural identity.

Oliver Hölcke
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Quito, Ecuador
oliver-andre.hoelcke@gtz.de