By offering support and knowledge to Indigenous communities, the organization K’allam’p is working to inspire resilient food systems while strengthening the sovereignty of the Andean people of Ecuador.

K’allam’p (pronounced ka-jahm-pah) aims to promote regenerative, holistic land management as well as generally bolster the well-being of Indigenous and local communities. To do this, they provide scholarships for educational development, site-specific research and innovation, and consultancy and training, among other services.

In recent years, they have helped the Indigenous members of the Arrayanes community create communal farms that simultaneously serve as learning centers. They have also funded school supplies, transportation, farming equipment, and other needs for the Andean people.

The word “K’allam’p” translates to fungi, mushroom, and the vast network below ground that gives rise to a fruiting body above ground. According to Indigenous thought, the growth of the mushroom often signifies “new beginnings,” President and Co-Founder Katharhy F. tells Food Tank. This regeneration represents the organization’s work. “We are catalyzers,” he says. “We try to catalyze ideas, concepts…conversations.”

As part of their latest project, K’allam’p has partnered with a farmer who owns 25 acres in Ecuador. The land will be used in part to grow medicinal plants for medical providers in the area, enhancing the sovereignty of Indigenous healthcare and education. “We want this farm to not only be a production of crops, but a production of knowledge,” Katharhy F. tells Food Tank.

Read the full article about regenerative agriculture by Shelley Rose at Food Tank.