When I was a child, I used to visit my great-grandmother in the countryside once a week. I always wanted to help her plant different foods. Most of the time I asked her to go to the fields, she would smile and tell me that it was not yet time for planting. I did not understand why we had to wait if all we had to do was make a hole in the ground and drop a seed. I remember one summer day when she finally said the land was ready. As fast as I could, I grabbed a bag of seeds and planted them as she instructed while she prepared the soil. After her death, the land was no longer as good as before, nor brought good harvests.
It was not until two years ago that I began to investigate why my great- grandmother waited patiently to start planting. I met the indigenous groups in my province, and they gave me the answer. In Ecuador, indigenous groups practice ancestral wisdom for planting agricultural products. What amazed me the most is that they practice agriculture in a sustainable way with nature. They calculate when it is time to harvest, know which seeds will cause less damage to the soil, and make use of organic fertilizers. Some indigenous groups even know how to predict whether a harvest will be good or bad depending on the state of the moors.
To promote the sustainable use of our ecosystems, I have researched more about ancestral wisdom and shared that knowledge with my university classmates and teachers. However, my dream is to share this with all the world. I wish the world can know about aboriginal practices and use them to preserve biodiversity. The future depends on us. We can work together, as one world, to respect and live in harmony with the elements of nature. I hope this book will be the first step toward fulfilling my dream.
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