Seeking ways to put words into practice, young people started an educational garden at an intercultural agricultural school in the Ecuadorian Choco rainforest. Indigenous students are learning to work with native seeds, medicinal plants and traditional knowledge. In a region where state neglect is leading to violence and migration, this garden is bringing glimmers of hope and cultural resistance.
Dawn breaks in the rainforest of the lowland Chocó in Ecuador’s Esmeraldas province, one of the most biodiverse territories of the world. In the distance, howler monkeys and a chorus of birds announce the new day. This is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet – rainy, with crystal-clear rivers and towering trees wrapped in the clouds of early morning.
From above, a hawk observes a landscape marked by fragmentation. Cocoa crops, oil palm, heart of palm, forest plantations, pastures and small communities have expanded since the 1980s, advancing relentlessly over the forest. Trucks loaded with timber travel continuously along gravel roads. Logging is the norm, and sustains the economy of many households. Cars and motorbikes move along deteriorated roads that become even more impassable during the rainy season due to constant rain and mud.
Esmeraldas is a province where state neglect is deeply felt, especially in such remote areas. School dropout, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, malnutrition and migration are some of the consequences of this neglect, which particularly affects Indigenous children and youth.
The territory and its tensions
On the banks of the Canandé River lies the community of Naranjal de los Chachis, one of six communities of the Chachi Indigenous nation in this part of Esmeraldas province. Although the Chachi presence in the province dates back more than 400 years, the community of Naranjal was established in this territory approximately six decades ago. Today, it is a relatively large community with more than 1,500 inhabitants, whose economy is mainly based on cocoa cultivation and timber extraction.
For many young people, migrating to cities has become the only way to imagine a different future
Outside the populated centre stretch family farms dominated by monocultures of cocoa, balsa (lightweight wood from the Ochroma pyramidale tree, mainly used in the wind energy industry), plantain and cassava. This productive homogenisation is also reflected in daily diets, which are centred on carbohydrates – mainly rice – some proteins, and ultra-processed products brought from Golondrinas, the urban centre that supplies the entire area.
The forest, increasingly distant, no longer provides as it once did. Hunting is no longer a primary activity, and fishing is practiced less and less often. Knowledge of traditional food systems is being lost, especially among younger generations.
Agriculture is heavily conditioned by national and global markets; crops are chosen based on price and sold to intermediaries. This model not only degrades soils, but also contaminates them with agrochemicals and weakens the community’s food sovereignty and food security.
These tensions are compounded by drug trafficking, gang violence, drug use, alcoholism and insecurity, which reduce safe spaces and opportunities for young people. Opportunities for education and employment are limited, particularly for women in this context of deeply rooted machismo. For many young people, migrating to cities has become the only way to imagine a different future.
A garden as a response
In response to this reality, an oasis of hope began to take shape in 2024 at Río Canandé, an intercultural bilingual agricultural school where Cha’palaa, Spanish and English are spoken. Bilingual schools like this one in Ecuador seek to respect ancestral knowledge while incorporating knowledge and perspectives from other cultures.
A group of young people studying here decided to challenge existing dynamics by creating an agroecological garden called ‘Feete Telele’, which means ‘Strong Roots’ in Cha’palaa The initiative emerged because – due to limited funding and insufficient state support for intercultural bilingual education in Ecuador and for agricultural schools in general – the students lacked a space where they could put their knowledge into practice. They also shared the dream of turning their school into a self-sustaining institution capable of producing healthy food to supply the community’s families.
This initiative was sparked by a previous visit by the students, together with a teacher, to an agroecological garden in a nearby community. This encounter inspired them to replicate the experience in their territory, adapting it to their own vision for their school and learning process.
Like many agricultural schools in the region – and across the country – the Río Canandé school did not have an established garden or adequate spaces for practical learning, despite this being part of its curriculum. Faced with this gap, the students decided to create their own learning space.
With the support of young parabiologists (community members trained to work as field research assistants) from Fundación Reserva Tesoro Escondido and school teachers, the students managed to recover 1,500 square metres of abandoned land and transform it into a living space for learning, experimentation and coexistence.
Throughout this process, students participated in trainings on agroecology, permaculture, soil health and restoration, the preparation of biofertilisers and organic inputs, and the construction of slow sand water filters, among other topics. For most, this knowledge was entirely new and allowed them to discover different ways of farming and relating to the land.
With these tools, they collectively designed and started to build their garden, asking themselves what kind of space they wanted for themselves, for their school and for future generations.
Learning by doing, overcoming barriers
In the garden, they built raised beds and planted both short and long-cycle crops such as sugarcane, tomato, radish, cassava, pineapple, maize, peanuts, cucumber and various types of beans and herbs. They are also developing an area for medicinal plants to recover associated cultural knowledge, as well as an agroforestry space. In addition, they began to produce organic fertilisers and biocontrol agents, used both in the garden and on their family farms.
The selection of crops followed several criteria: first, priority was given to those for which native seeds were locally available; second, the aim was to diversify the diets of community families; third, crop associations and rotations were considered to prevent pests and diseases and to enhance beneficial interactions between species; and finally, varieties best suited to local agroclimatic conditions – particularly humid forest environments and clay soils – were chosen.
Maintaining daily motivation was difficult, especially at the beginning, when frustration followed each failed attempt
The process was not easy. Recovering and demarcating the land involved clearing an area that had been used as a dumping site. Some seeds did not germinate, others were affected by pests, and neighbours’ chickens became a constant challenge. Maintaining daily motivation was also difficult, especially at the beginning, when frustration followed each failed attempt.
At times, language was also a barrier for the mainly Spanish-speaking parabiologists when they tried to build trust and closeness. Continuous support – especially through weekly visits and the creative teaching methods of young parabiologist Jefferson Arellano – was key to sustaining the process, solving problems and maintaining collective motivation.
Harvesting the future
One year later, failures have turned into learning, and the first harvests are already being gathered, shared among students’ households and, in some cases, sold within the community. These early harvests have strengthened the group’s motivation and proved that the space they had imagined was possible.
The school’s teaching staff has also become actively involved. The garden has become a fundamental space for students specialising in agriculture to learn and experiment, and it is envisioned as a legacy for future generations. In a context where Chachi culture, language and traditions are under threat, the school remains a space of cultural resistance.
Some young people are already replicating what they have learned in their family plots, particularly in crop diversification and rotation. They feel capable of producing their own food instead of buying it, and they value the opportunity to consume healthy, chemical-free food and to share this knowledge with their families.
Strong roots, self-determined decisions
Unlike other projects in the area, Feete Telele was created by youth and built on their own dreams and decisions. The garden is experienced as a different kind of space, as it does not respond solely to a school curriculum, but to the search for autonomy, resilience and the ability to once again make decisions about food and territory. Young people enjoy their time in the garden and recognise it as a safe and welcoming place.
This process has opened up fundamental questions: What if staying in the territory were possible? Why not decide what and how to grow? Is it possible to build food sovereignty and security from within the community? Can we recover our rivers and conserve our forests?
The youth of the Río Canandé school are redefining their role in local food systems and in their community
Through agroecological practices, the youth of the Río Canandé school are redefining their role in local food systems and in their community. They are not only producing food; they are restoring soils, recovering traditional plants, caring for water, proposing new ways of exchanging and consuming food, and beginning to recognise the biodiversity around them. They study insects in the garden and plan to engage in meliponiculture as part of a future sustainable community enterprise linked to conservation.
The Feete Telele process is still in its early stages. The young people dream of expanding it: incorporating native fish aquaculture, raising chicks, creating a space for cultural exchange and shared experiences, and establishing a fair to market their products. In this way, they aim to consolidate the garden as a permanent space, rooted in the community.
This journey shows that in addition to needing inspiring projects, ongoing support, safe spaces and time to dream, young people need to be heard. When they are supported, they not only grow food but they cultivate dignified, collective and rooted futures. In Naranjal de los Chachis, agroecology has become an open door to imagining and building new ways of staying and living in the territory.
Authors: Citlalli Morelos-Juárez is a biologist specialised in primate and tropical forest conservation. She is the co-founder and executive director of Fundación Reserva Tesoro Escondido, where she leads research, environmental education and community-based projects in the Ecuadorian Chocó. Adriana Argoti is an entomologist and project coordinator at Fundación Reserva Tesoro Escondido. She works in research, meliponiculture, native bee conservation and environmental education in the Ecuadorian Chocó. Jefferson Arellano is a parabiologist, agroecology student and fellow of the Senderos Jóvenes community leadership school. He collaborates as a parabiologist in the Feete Telele agroecological garden at the Río Canandé school. Eddy Añapa is an agronomist with the Chachi nationality. He is a technical teacher in agricultural production at the Río Canandé school. Daniela Montalvo is an agro-industrial engineer and agroecologist focused on agricultural research and community projects. She works on agroecology, permaculture, and food sovereignty at Fundación Reserva Tesoro Escondido. Contact: citlalli.morelos@tesororeserve.org
This article is part of Issue 4-2026: Youth leading the way in agroecology.
