case studies undp: union of farmer and indigenous organizations of cotacachi, ecuador

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: UNION OF FARMER AND INDIGENOUS ORGANIZATIONS OF COTACACHI, Ecuador

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Ecuador

UNION OF FARMERAND INDIGENOUSORGANIZATIONS OFCOTACACHI (UNORCAC)

Empowered live

Resilient nation

Empowered live

Resilient nation


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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran

Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Parra, Brandon Payn

Mariajos Satizbal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Union o Farmer and Indigenous Organizations o Cotacachi (UNORCAC), and

particular the guidance and inputs o Rumiahui Anrango and Martha Arotingo. All photo credits courtesy o UNORCAC. Maps court

o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Union o Farmer and Indigenous Organizations o Cotacachi (UNORCAC), Ecuador. Equa

Initiative Case Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf


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PROJECT SUMMARYThe remote communities o Ecuadors inter-Andean valleyshave long aced the twin challenges o ood insecurityand environmental degradation. Malnutrition aectsapproximately 40 per cent o the regions population,and armers receive limited technological and economicsupport rom ormal institutions. The Union o Farmer andIndigenous Organizations o Cotacachi was ounded toaddress these challenges and turn the relative abundanceo rare native crop and ruit species to the advantage oarming communities.

By conserving o a wide variety o native, tuber, root,ruit, cereal and medicinal plant species, the initiativehas improved diversity o income and nutrition sourcesor 3,225 arming amilies. In addition the initiative hasdeveloped value-added processing o local varieties, andagro-tourism.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2008

FOUNDED: 2002

LOCATION: Inter-Andean valleys of northern Ecuador

BENEFICIARIES: 3,225 families

BIODIVERSITY: Agricultural biodiversity

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UNION OF FARMER AND INDIGENOUSORGANIZATIONS OF COTACACHI (UNORCAC)Ecuador

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 10

Partners 11


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4

he Union o Farmer and Indigenous Organizations o CotacachiUnin de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indgenas de Cotacachi -

UNORCAC) brings together local producers, agricultural researchers,

nd national and international development agencies to promote

ustainable rural development in the inter-Andean valleys o Ecuador.

he organisation has encouraged the conservation and sustainable

se o genetic plant resources through the reintroduction and

reservation o native crop varieties.

Agricultural biodiversity (or agro-biodiversity) is a undamental

omponent o ood security or the worlds poorest rural communities

nd plays a key role in making arming systems more stable, resilient,

nd sustainable. Agricultural biodiversity includes all cultivatedrop species and their related wild species, as well as species o

omesticated animals, insects and other pollinators, and strains o

microorganisms that are used either directly or indirectly or ood

nd agriculture. It also encompasses the ull range o associated

cosystems in which agriculture takes place, as well as habitats and

pecies outside o agricultural systems that generate benets to

griculture and contribute to the unctioning o ecosystems.

Environmental decline and ood security

arming communities in Ecuador have long aced the twin

hallenges o ood insecurity and environmental degradation.

ood production or subsistence livelihoods and cash income hasten been prioritized at the expense o biodiversity, water quality,

arbon xation capacity, and land resources in general. Over time,

ver-exploitation o natural resources has decreased agricultural

roductivity, making it more dicult or the rural producers to meet

ven basic ood security needs. These challenges are particularly

evere in the inter-Andean region o Ecuador, which accounts or

4% o the countrys landmass, comprising approximately 67,000

m2. The region is densely populated, home to approximately 46% o

he national population (4.5 million), and poverty is rie. Malnutrition

ects approximately 40% o the population. Farmers in this region

have received limited technological and economic support

ormal institutions, with these eorts proving insucient bo

terms o improving agricultural productivity and in meeting

demands o local and oreign markets.

Crop diversity and local livelihoods in Cotacachi

Farmers living in the oothills o the Cotacachi Volcano have m

their living or centuries by cultivating small plots o land w

diverse assortment o native crops, many o which are little-kn

outside the Andes. The Cotacachi communities are located w

one o the worlds primary centers o crop domestication. C

grown here include numerous local maize varieties; Andean roottubers such as oca, mashua, melloco, and arracacha; pseudo-ce

such as quinoa and amaranth; tropical ruits such as tree toma

ground cherries, passion ruits, highland papayas and giant An

blackberries; native grain legumes including lupines, lima b

common beans and scarlet runner beans; highland squashes

as the g-leaed gourd and the slipper gourd; and several vari

o hot peppers. Local armers also maintain ancestral knowle

about the special properties and uses o these crops. Ater satis

their amilys own needs, armers take any surplus produce to

markets; prices are oten so low, however, that they do not c

the transportation costs. The low status oten associated with n

oods in urban markets, and environmental changes in re

decades have led to increasing abandonment o these diverse cresulting in the overall erosion o agricultural biodiversity.

Poverty reduction through conserving agro-biodiversity

The Union o Farmer and Indigenous Organizations o Cota

(UNORCAC) was ormed to resolve this dilemma and prom

a selection o native crops that are considered orgotten,

have received little attention rom the scientic and agricul

community. The project is designed to contribute to sustain

rural development in a pilot area within the arming valley

Background and Context


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55

he inter-Andean region. UNORCACs primary objective is to

mprove living conditions through poverty reduction based on the

onservation o agro-biodiversity.

ince its inception in 2002, the initiative has reached 3,225 amilies.

Many o these amilies are rom the indigenous Quichua (Kichwa)

eople, common to the Andean regions o Ecuador and Colombia,

nd numbering approximately 2.5 million. UNORCAC has achieved

ignicant poverty reduction results through the implementation

o projects with a distinctive approach it terms development

identity. The organisation believes that agricultural practices

incorporate technologies and management processes that en

an ecologically sound, cost-eective, and equitable distribu

o social benets. By creating new markets or native crop-b

products and by revitalizing indigenous knowledge and tradi

associated with local agro-biodiversity, the ethnic, cultural and s

value o native crops is recognized and reinorced.


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6

Key Activities and Innovations

n response to the genetic erosiono underutilized native crop

arieties in arming communities in the Andean valleys o northern

cuador, the UNORCAC initiative was launched in 2002. Over time,

he project has increasingly ocused on the application o scientic

nowledge and techniques, as refected in the title o the initial

project: Promotion o Andean crops or rural development in

cuador: Rescue, complementary conservation, and sustainable

se o inter-Andean genetic resources. The project has targeted

ural communities in the canton o Cotacachi, Imbabura province,

o increase their use o local varieties o native crops. To achieve

his goal, UNORCAC provides basic inormation and appropriate

echnologies to seven rural communities to build local capacity in

hree areas: agriculture, agro-tourism, and added-value processing.

he project activities are organized into our thematic components:

the complementary conservation o native crops, which involves

participatory research on local agro-biodiversity in coordination with

x-situ conservation initiatives; ii) artisanal ood products, and the

evelopment o new value-added products and markets to promote

gro-biodiversity; iii) agro-biodiversity education, which includes

nvironmental education and awareness-raising on the importance

o conserving agricultural biodiversity; and iv) agro-tourism.

Complementary conservation o native crops

Within the participatory research component o the initiative,onservation strategies include agro-biodiversity inventories,

alidation o common species names, restoring local varieties

nd related wild species, cataloguing traditional knowledge o

gricultural biodiversity, restoration o local varieties and native

rops, and the establishment o an ethno-botanical garden.

hese eorts represent a comprehensive approach to detailing

he areas genetic resources and traditional knowledge, creating

reserve o biological diversity and accumulated knowledge

on its ethno-botanical uses. In situ conservation o native crops

on-arm is being encouraged and complemented by the eorts

o the National Agricultural Research Institute (Instituto Nac

de Investagaciones Agropecuarias INIAP), which maintains

countrys ex situ germplasm collections. UNORCACs armer net

works closely with the agencys agricultural extension ocers

researchers to reintroduce and cultivate appropriate local varie

seed trading between armers then helps to spread the use o tvarieties more widely within the Cotacachi communities.

Value-added processing o native crops

This second area o activities has entailed the establishment

micro-enterprise called Sumak Mikuy (Great Food) which proce

and markets products based on native ood crops. This projec

prioritized our local varieties: blackberry, cape gooseberry (kn

locally as uvilla), pepper, and the g-lea gourd a type o sq

known locally as sambo (Cucurbita ciolia). The micro-enter


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7

s responsible or promoting the cultivation o these species and

heir varieties, and then using an artisanal process to add value

o cultivation practices. The project has instigated the ormation

producer and grower networks. UNORCAC has also overseen the

onstruction o a acility equipped to process these products,

nsuring that quality standards are met that meet local market

demands.

Processing o native crop varieties has also involved traditional

medicinal plants; UNORCAC producers use more than 130 typeso native plants in dierent orms and combinations based on

raditional knowledge o their medicinal properties. UNORCAC is

urrently working to establish a green pharmacy, which will process

medicinal plants by hand and expand their use within and outside

he Cotacachi communities.

Agro-biodiversity education

The promotion o native crop and medicinal plant varieties is

underpinned by UNORCACs extensive educational awareness-

aising outreach process. This component o the organizations

work is comprised o an education programme in agro-biodiversity

designed or teachers in local schools. UNORCAC engages teachers

hemselves in the development o an agro-biodiversity teachers

guide and teaching materials. This program has been incorporated

nto the ormal school curriculum. The organizations ethno-

botanical garden is being created to supplement this educational

work on the wealth o local agricultural biodiversity and its uses or

he communities.

A signicant ocus o UNORCACs awareness-raising work has b

on lowering levels o malnutrition. The organization has encour

increased diversity in diets by supporting market gardens with

varieties o crops, including roots, tubers, grains, vegetables

ruit. In addition, UNORCAC has also promoted nutritional educa

using popular education methods, such as theatre shows, eatu

actors rom community womens groups, and through comm

airs eaturing ancestral oods and recipes.

Agro-tourism

UNORCAC has seeks to develop sustainable income-genera

opportunities or arming households. In addition to the Su

Mikuy micro-enterprise, the organisation promotes bee-keepin

a livelihood activity that encourages the use o native vegetatio

producing Andean honey. It has also developed an agro-tou

enterprise that encourages tourists to learn about indige

communities culture, way o lie, agricultural practices, be

indigenous medicine, rituals, and cuisine. To this end, UNOR

has created a community-based tourism enterprise called Quic

Tupari Runa, with teen tourist accommodation acilities in

indigenous communities. Tourists are able to learn ance

agricultural practices, enjoy traditional meals, and purchase c

made using local materials and techniques. In 2010, the enter

received approximately 3,000 tourists; visitor numbers have gr

at a rate o 30% annually since its inception in 2002, when the

received around 800 visitors. The revenues generated are sh

between the enterprise, the owners o the lodgings, and

communities. An innovation that is being implemented is lod

or volunteers, which aims to welcome students and volun

to study and support UNORCACs conservation and developm

activities.


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8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

Loss o agricultural biodiversity, termed genetic erosion, occurs

when local varieties are lost, abandoned or replaced by other

species or by improved varieties. In many cases, the adoption o

agricultural systems that require agrochemicals, irrigation, and

improved varieties results in a reduction in the number o related

varieties grown. When local varieties are replaced by new cultivars,

genetic erosion occurs, because the new varieties introduced

do not carry the genetic diversity o local species, leading to a

diminishing gene pool that threatens the species with extinction.

The destruction o orests and other natural plant groupings also

causes genetic erosion, through the loss o wild species related tocultivated crops such as natural pollinators. This can also result in the

loss o wild edible species, which oten supplement rural household

diets, especially in times o crisis.

Traditional crop varieties are the result o many generations o natural

and human selection in armers elds, including seed exchange

within and between communities, mutations and genetic drit, and

the recombining o genes between varieties and their related wild

species. Traditionally, the use o two or more local varieties gives

armers greater security rom environmental hazards. Traditional

crop varieties may vary in their resistance to biotic actors (pests and

diseases), and to abiotic actors (drought, extreme temperatures,

salinity, etc.). Greater agricultural biological diversity among cropsthereore allows armers to produce crops successully in dierent

environmental conditions, thereby adapting to a changing climate.

This type o crop management also reduces the need or pesticides

or other expensive inputs, which in turn contributes to the welare

o the wider ecosystem through reduced pesticide runo into water

sources, or instance. Finally, crop diversity gives rural producers the

opportunity to select varieties to support their culinary and religious

traditions, along with other cultural values.

Improved resilience and adaptive capacity

A high degree o agricultural biodiversity is critical to bols

the resilience o rural producers in meeting social, economi

environmental threats. UNORCACs work to improve the

diversity o Cotacachis indigenous and local arming commu

has thereore substantially improved local resilience and adapt

to the challenges o a changing climate. Research carrie

within the target area has revealed the wealth o biodiversity

conserved, and in turn has demonstrated to armers the va

reintroducing native species.

Over 370 arm amilies were surveyed to determine the amoudistribution o crop diversity on-arm, as well as to understan

human and natural actors that contribute to the maintenan

this diversity. Data revealed that Cotacachi is home to a high d

o genetic variability in traditional crops. The predominant s

include maize, beans, sambo squash, and minor crops such a

tomato (Solanum betaceum), mora, or blackberry (Rubus gla

taxo, or banana passionruit (Passiforaspp.), achogcha (Cyclan

pedata), granadilla (Passifora ligularis), uvilla or cape goose

(Physalis peruviana), and varieties o pepper (Capsicum spp.). E

local varieties o maize were identied, as well as several va

o beans the most cultivated are yellow corn and mixturiad

matahambre beans, used mainly in fours and beverages, a

some cases, as medicine.

Seed banks, environmental education and armer netw

UNORCACs work in restoring crop diversity has employed

main techniques. Seeds o native varieties that had become

or lost were restored to participating communities rom I

germplasm bank. A communal plot o land or seed reprodu

was established in Cotacachi; dozens o traditional crop va

have been restored in this way. To date, this has involved pla

o 10,000 specimens o 15 crops, including root, tuber, grai


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ruit varieties. Samples o the current local varieties were collected

and deposited in the national germplasm bank, meanwhile, where

hey are characterized, evaluated and conserved ex situ under

ong-term storage conditions. Educational awareness conducted

hrough community airs has encouraged increased use o native

pecies, including corn, beans, achogcha, pepper, tomato, taxo, and

passion ruit, among others. Agro-tourism has also acted as a spur to

diversied crop use: agro-biodiversity has increased by 80% across

he tourist accommodation sites, with an average o 137 agricultural

pecies. Finally, the organisation has acilitated the exchange onative seeds within armer networks, resulting in increased crop

diversity in 500 household arms that had previously lost traditional

varieties o crops.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

UNORCACs rural development eorts are based on the use o local

esources and on community empowerment; these eorts have

mproved the local quality o lie and contributed to agricultural

ustainability. Results have been achieved through close cooperation

with INIAP, bringing the benets o scientic research to those who

are most in need o it. For instance, armers with limited resources

have benetted rom the development o simple processingmethods and technologies that do not depend on external inputs,

as these technologies are typically expensive or inappropriate or

mall-scale agro-ecosystems.

Rural micro-enterprise development

The development o rural micro-enterprise initiatives that support

biodiversity conservation and income generation has played a key

ole in delivering tangible economic and social gains or Cotacachis

3,225 arming amilies. The Sumak Mikuy agribusiness has used

simple and locally-appropriate technologies to add value to n

crops based on traditional recipes. Products include An

Blackberry Marmalade (Rubus glaucus), Squash Seed Snack

Pepa de Sambo (Cucurbita ciolia), Spicy Pepper Pastes (Caps

spp.) and Dried Ground Uvilla Cherries (Physalis peruviana). T

products are packaged using natural bers and marketed to the

numbers o tourists visiting the Cotacachi area, nearby Otavalo

the capital city o Quito. The marketing strategy adds value to

products by telling the story o the native crops and the indige

armers who produce them.

Farmers are paid a premium price or high-quality produce,

any prots rom the business are reinvested into the commu

This enterprise involves approximately 130 local producers,

o whom are women. This exercise has been supplemented by

creation o an association o beekeepers who produce bee prod

rom native orests, including Andean honey, pollen, and propo

The implementation o agricultural plots has increased the ave

number o crops grown per household or consumption by

Coupled with the nutritional educational campaign or armers

agro-biodiversity education in ormal schools, purchases o

rom urban markets have decreased by 50%, improving local and generating household savings. In total, 1,284 amilies g

corn, 1,178 grow beans, 236 plant potatoes, 385 grow peas, and

grow quinoa.

The micro-entrepreneurial initiatives have greatly impr

household incomes: those engaged in tourism receive approxim

USD 120 per month; those in the agribusiness, USD 316 per mo

and those in beekeeping, USD 195 per month.

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ntercultural education and ecological clubs

n the process o raising awareness on the need to conserve agro-

iodiversity, UNORCAC has ormed an Association o Environmental

ducators comprising teachers rom nineteen local schools. These

chools are recognized by the state as Bilingual Intercultural

Community Education Centers (CECIBs) that cater to indigenous

Quichua communities, teaching in both Quichua and Spanish.

his recognition has made possible the development o a series actions and activities that have involved other teachers and

tudents, bringing agricultural education to a wide audience o

Quichua students. These students are also organized into ecological

lubs. Through this platorm, teachers and students have developed

chool-community liaison events, in which students share what

hey have learned about agro-biodiversity with parents and other

ommunity members. The integration o biodiversity conservation

nto the ormal curricula has been accomplished with the support

volunteer teachers and the provincial directorate o intercultural

ducation (DIPEIBI). Traditional community ood airs have also

aised awareness o the nutritional value o cultural oods, and have

howcased a compilation o 26 traditional meal recipes.

mproved incomes rom agro-tourism

he Runa Tupari tourism initiative allows oreign tourists to explore

ndigenous communities experience rst-hand the lives o armers

nd their relationship with local agricultural biodiversity, agricultural

ractices, ood, medicine and indigenous rituals. Agro-tourism

as been successully developed as a complementary activity to

gricultural work that encourages conservation o agricultural

iodiversity and knowledge related to it while simultaneously

enerating additional income or the amilies involved. Families

eceiving visitors have enriched their gardens agro-biodiversity and

re able to communicate its cultural and natural wealth, providing

n authentic intercultural shared lie experience or visitors. While

ourism provides average revenues o USD 130 per month or those

amilies involved in hosting visitors, the most valuable aspect o this

ctivity has proven to be the process o improving the sel-esteem o

amily members (particularly women) and supporting a revaluation

cultural identity and o the elements associated with it, including

ative crops.

ive communities currently provide accommodation or tourists; to

ate, 25 community members have been licensed as guides by the

Ministry o Tourism. New groups have also ormed to complement

isitors experiences, including music and dance groups, and crat

ssociations, adding to the holistic presentation o indigenousulture. There is also increased awareness o the need to improve

waste management in the communities. The Agro-Culinary Guide

o Cotacachi, meanwhile, is a small book written to help inorm

isitors about the native crops o the region, the importance o agro-

iodiversity, and the estivals that celebrate the agricultural cycle,

entral to the lives o these communities.

Awareness-raising eorts and the development o agro-tourism have

ad a signicant empowering eect on the Cotacachi communities.

A key actor or the conservation o traditional plant varieties in rural

communities is the socio-cultural importance that such vari

have, including the ancestral knowledge associated with gro

and using them. Raising awareness o the importance o a

biodiversity has increased both the perceived value o, and pop

support or, conservation. Farming communities are now see

key actors in the conservation and use o the genetic resourc

underutilized crops.

POLICY IMPACTS

UNORCAC has received support rom various government minis

and agencies, and in return has helped to inorm policie

community-based agriculture, culture, tourism, and indige

education. Important partners to the initiative have included

National Institute o Agricultural Research (Instituto Naciona

Investagaciones Agropecuarias INIAP) and the provincial directo

o intercultural education (DIPEIBI). Through the Assembl

Cantonal Units o Cotacachi, UNORCAC has also been ab

infuence the development o local government policy. As pa

the National Federation o Peasant and Indigenous Organizat

meanwhile, UNORCAC has been part o eorts to infuence nat

policies relating to rural ood security. The group has also m

contact with the Ministry o Cultural and Natural Heritage to ina process or the UNORCAC territory to be considered an a

biodiversity and traditional knowledge reserve.

10


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11

Partners

UNORCAC acts as a community-based organisation that coordinates

network o producers, womens groups, indigenous educators,

nd volunteers. Its armer network works closely with national

nd international researchers to adapt scientic research and

echnologies to meet local needs. Eventually, UNORCAC hopes to

pread this model to other communities and regions o the country;

o date, it has been used as a case study or similar groups in Peru.

Government partners include the National Institute o Agricultural

esearch (Instituto Nacional de Investagaciones Agropecuarias

NIAP) and DIPEIBI (Direccin Provincial de Educacin Intercultural).

he project received substantial unding rom 2002-2008 rom

he Food or Progress programme o the U.S. Department oAgriculture (USDA) in collaboration with Biodiversity International,

s well as technical assistance rom UCODEP (Unity and Cooperation

or Development o Peoples, an Italian-based NGO), CORPEI (La

Corporacin de Promocin de Exportaciones, a private, not-or-

rot organization that promotes Ecuadorian exports and Foreign

Direct Investment in Ecuador) and FOMRENA (El Fondo Regional de

Tecnologas Apropiadas en Manejo Sostenible de Recursos Naturales).


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FURTHER REFERENCE

Union o Farmer and Indigenous Organizations o Cotacachi (UNORCAC) websitehttp://www.unorcac.org/

Video on UNORCAC, 2008 (Dailymotion)http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x74d6_unorcac_news

Video on UNORCAC, 2010 (YouTube)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE3rh67skFs

Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781 4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change and

necting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

2012 by Equator Initiative

All rights reserved

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case studies undp: union of farmer and indigenous organizations of cotacachi, ecuador

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