The San Isidro Food Circle
The San Isidro Food Circle is a self-sustaining, village-based food exchange system established initially to provide members with a safety net in times of job insecurity and fluctuating food prices. Small holder farmers who join the Circle find a more dependable market for their produce, have an alternative source of income and the opportunity to directly negotiate the purchase price of their products. An unintentional yet positive outcome has been renewed interest in traditional “forgotten” crops, an increase in dietary diversity among members and renewed pride in cultural identity.
The problem
The population in San Isidro - an indigenous community of 500 people in Ecuador's central Andes - practices semi-subsistence farming. This means that economic and dietary needs are largely met by some form of cash-earning income in combination with family/household-scale agriculture. Work in San Isidro is scarce. Most heads of household travel long distances to find work and earn the remittances that help their families along. Fluctuating food prices further exacerbate economic problems faced by the families of San Isidro leaving many to cope with an uncertain future.
Agrobiodiversity
Farmers in San Isidro grow a variety of traditional and staple crops, all of which are rain-fed or watered using the collective irrigation system. Crops include a number of beans and kidney beans, together with staples such as habas (broad beans) and maize (numerous varieties, including 'black maize') along with more common crops and fruits such as mora (blackberries) capulí ( Prunus salcifolia ) and babaco ( Carica pentagona Heilb.). The Food Circle encourages participants to cultivate Andean tubers such as ocas ( Oxalis tuberosa ) or mashua ( Tropaeolum tuberosum ) as well as quinoa and amaranth, such that their availability and visibility are increasing. These crops - which are frequently referred to as "what our parents ate" or "plants from here - original offerings of our lands" - are valued both for their health properties as well as their suitability to local climate and soil conditions.
The project
In 2011, in response to the global food crisis, small-scale farmers in San Isidro, in the province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador, took matters in their own hands. The San Isidro Food Circle was born to assist households find an alternative outlet for home-grown produce and provide greater control over access to food and food choices. The Food Circle organizes weekly food exchanges in the village square, where a variety of traditional and staple crops are traded. Members of the Circle come together weekly to establish the range and quantity of products to be grown, which vary according to seasons, crop cycles and labour patterns. Typically involving between 6 and 12 participants (mostly women), crop selection and production is decided collectively. Each member is assigned a particular crop or set of crops so as to avoid duplication of efforts and thus diversifying food availability. Often older children and teenagers are just as actively involved in the decision-making process, which is reached by consensus. The production schedule currently focuses on neglected and traditional crops.
Impact
- The Food Circle allows producers to directly negotiate a price for their products and to collectively control optimum land use in the village
- Dietary diversity has increased along with food security
- There has been a revival of traditional crop varieties
- Food Circle members have adopted more diverse and sustainable agricultural practices
- The initiative has influenced work at the regional level, in support of the National Constitution’s provision for Food Sovereignty in Ecuador.
Contact Tristan Partridge