Practicas económicas andinas como alternativas al desarrollo. Caso de estudio de la asociación de productores agroecológicos “Sumak Mikuna” del cantón El Tambo, provincia del Cañar

Abstract

The association of agroecological producers "SUMAK MIKUNA" of the El Tambo cantón, is part of the Cóndor-Chuquiragua-Cañari Biocorridor that is located in the province of Cañar. It is a territory of life that houses various ecosystems of great ecological, economic and cultural importance, with primary forests, protected areas, and extensive areas of Paramos where the main sources of WATER are found. But this territory is threatened by anthropic intervention that generates changes in land use, the greatest threats being the advance of the agricultural frontier, overgrazing, etc. In this context, the Sumak Mikuna Association, an organization made up of Cañaris women, who, aware of the environmental problems of their territory, have organized to work to protect the common goods of their territory, through the practice of economic activities that promote the use of rational and sustainable of the common goods and the generation of added value of its products. In this research, the qualitative methodology was used, a case study.

In the first part, the historical construction of the association was carried out, and the current situation, where it is evident that they have had important achievements. Subsequently, an analysis was made of the economic practices that the women of the association have been carrying out to date, such as: Agroecology, dairy farming, rescue of ancestral Andean crops, protection of paramo, generation of added value, direct marketing from producer to producer consumer, breeding of minor species. In addition, solidarity practices are analyzed such as: minka, maquimañachi, barter, under the principles of solidarity, reciprocity and redistribution, with the aim of guaranteeing the food security of families, caring for the environment.

All these Andean economic practices are based on their comprehensive, holistic and harmonious worldview of the world, community life, principles and values oriented towards protecting and conserving common goods and building a society of harmony and balance among all the beings that we inhabit in the Pachamama. The main objective of these economic practices is to guarantee family food security, as well as allowing an efficient and sustainable form of production, with the use of local technology and ancestral knowledge, which allows to care for and conserve the Pachamama at the same time improving the peasant economy and the living conditions of families.The community economy and the social economy, as a theoretical conception and as a political practice, are guided by the ethical principle of the reproduction and development of human life and nature. The Andean economic practices as part of the Andean economy and the Social and Solidarity Economy entities are aimed at boosting the local economy. They intervene in the locality where they are, so they constitute an essential element from the cultural, social, economic and political point of view.

All economic practices are aimed at protecting and conserving common goods. In this way, the practice of Agroecology contributes to reducing environmental pollution, since it is a cultivation system that prioritizes the use of local media and technology, as well as the efficient use of water. The Andean economic practices carried out by the women of the Sumak Mikuna association, make visible the hard work and contribution of women to the local and national economy, in addition, through these economic practices they promote alternatives to development in the face of the multidimensional crisis that we are currently going through in Our country and the world, a small sample of this is the importance and relevance of ancestral knowledge and knowledge, which prevailed during the critical time of the pandemic, where communities opted for ancestral medicine, the use of medicinal plants to counteract the pandemic. Although all this effort is not recognized by the state, it is and will continue in the daily practice of women.