Indigenous Cosmovision, Women, and Agroecology
Agroecology is a process in which we apply different types of knowledge and ways of knowing that also generates new knowledge. For us Mayan indigenous people, this knowledge and these ways of knowing are part of our ancestral memory. For indigenous people, and for peasants, agroecology is a way of life.
In the Mayan cosmovision, we have equilibrium (balance), complementarity, and harmony. These three principles are included in agroecology, as in the life cycle, because all is part of life.
Agriculture requires us to take care of the land. In taking care of the land, we must include all: humans and others beings, including the water and the air. We need each other, because we complement each other. We understand this as the complementarity principle. But we — women and men — are not living it, because the violence against us — women — continues. In order to fully live complementarity, we all need to decolonize our minds from patriarchy. For us indigenous women, we believe it is not possible to make change without valuing the work, the knowledge, and the life of women.
Agroecology is part of the everyday life of women. Since the beginning, women are the first ones to cultivate the fields and save the seeds. They identified the seeds that could be eaten, and they selected and multiplied those that were the most appetizing and enjoyable.
Through the principle of equilibrium, we understand that if we, women and men, maintain an unhealthy environment, we will see negative things happening. For example, climate change represents the disequilibrium between us and nature.
We have been threatened by globalization and mercantilism. Through agroecology, indigenous women are leading a different way of life. We grow healthy food, sell it to others and, more important, we are generating more knowledge and continue saving the seeds.
Agroecology is a call to make changes in the way we grow our food. The harmony principle means we need to live in diversity and comprehend the differences among the animals and among us human beings. Here in Guatemala we have different idioms among the different ethnicities. Likewise, we need to recognize and understand the different ways to live with nature.