Returning to the Roots: Where modern permaculture meets Ancestral Knowledge in the Ecuadorian Andes

By Maria Paez

Nestled within the Andean highlands of Ecuador, near the sacred volcano Ilaló, something powerful is taking root. Allpa Tarpuna - “Land of Sowing” in Quechua - is more than a sustainability project. It is a story of return, reconnection, and revival. Led by Rogelio, Martha and their daughters Mishelle and Joana, Eco Centro Allpa Tarpuna is helping communities rediscover ancestral wisdom through the language of permaculture. But there’s a deeper twist: while the foundations of permaculture were drawn from the careful observation of Indigenous peoples in Australia in 1970s, now, decades later, that same knowledge - reframed and globalised - is circling back to awaken and empower the very communities from which it was born.

Permaculture, emerged as a response to the destruction caused by industrial agriculture. Its principles - working with nature, valuing diversity, building soil health and designing for resilience. Rogelio’s story is an example of one of the many roles permaculture is playing today.

Like many Indigenous youth, Rogelio was pushed by the educational system to leave his rural roots behind. He studied agronomy, learning techniques based on chemicals, monocultures and export crops. But when he returned to his indigenous community, his father said simply: “You don’t know anything.”

That moment sparked a journey of unlearning. Rogelio began reconnecting with the land, drawing on the ways his ancestors had lived - naturally, regeneratively, in balance with Pachamama (Mother Earth). He and his partner Martha began growing food organically using native seeds. Unknowingly, they were already practicing permaculture.

It took a visiting foreigner to name it: “Where did you study permaculture?” they asked. Curious, Rogelio went on to study in Brazil and met Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton in person. There, Bill Mollison told him: “You are Indigenous. Permaculture must return to Indigenous communities. You will be the one to do that.”

Today, through Eco Centro Allpa Tarpuna, Rogelio and his family are not only practicing permaculture they are translating it back into the language and worldview of their community. They don’t say “ground cover” - they say the earth wears a poncho. Animals aren’t just livestock - they’re life-givers, part of the land’s fertility cycle. Water isn’t just managed - it is planted, respected and redirected to sustain life. Rogelio has taught hundreds of students, many of whom now run their own permaculture projects. Some are ex-bankers, ex-oil workers and even ex-military - now living lives of regeneration and service. “It’s beautiful to see how people are transformed,” he says.

But more than that, he’s bridging a gap - reconnecting permaculture with its roots and making it relevant and powerful for communities that were once pushed away from  nature and excluded from the very conversation they inspired.

What makes Eco Centro Allpa Tarpuna even more unique is that it’s a family effort. Rogelio and Martha’s daughters, Mishelle and Joana, now play an essential role in the project — bringing in skills in communication, administration, and educational programming. Their leadership ensures that the project stays strong, inclusive and relevant to younger generations. Together, this intergenerational team is growing food - and also growing awareness, dignity and hope.

Beyond farming, Allpa Tarpuna works to protect native seeds, revive traditional cooking and restore food sovereignty. They’ve mapped over 140 seed guardians and developed a participatory guarantee system to help communities share, trade and sell seeds ethically.

“In our chacra (traditional garden), we don’t just grow food. We grow medicine, fibre for clothes, materials for shelter - everything, why buy food, when we can grow it? That’s the ancestral principle.” Rogelio explains.

Now, Rogelio dreams of building a permaculture network led by Indigenous communities - one that can share knowledge across Central and South America.

“We walk like the armadillo - slowly, but digging deep,” he says. The goal? To strengthen land rights, protect ancestral territories and keep traditional knowledge alive - while welcoming anyone who wants to learn. Because while permaculture may have been formalised on the other side of the world, its heart belongs to everyone. It is not just for the privileged or the alternative. It is for all - and from all.

We celebrate that Eco Centro Allpa Tarpuna received the Lush Spring Prize 2025 under the Permaculture Magazine Award category - a global recognition of their deep-rooted, quietly revolutionary work. But their greatest reward? Seeing their own community - and many others - awaken to the realisation that life can be lived differently: with dignity, with balance, with joy and with a deep consciousness of what it truly means to cultivate social capital - through trust, reciprocity and collective purpose. 

Allpa Tarpuna offers volunteering opportunities - so if you're interested in supporting, or learning more about their initiatives, please contact them here.
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