Chakra certificate: organic farming & protection of the Amazon rainforest

Introduction

Organic, Fairtrade, WWF, FSC and Rainforest Alliance certifications all have something in common: they were established by people and organisations, some of which are commercial, profit-making businesses. The producers affected by their requirements have no say in setting the conditions for earning these certifications.

In this article, I look at the “Sello Chakra Amazonica” certification from Ecuador, established by Indigenous Kichwa communities in the Amazon rainforest to raise awareness of the agriculture and traditions they have practised there for thousands of years.

Contents

1. The Sello Chakra Amazonica certification
2. What the certification stands for
3. What grows in a Chakra?
4. The Chakra: a place full of life
5. The nine principles of the Chakra certification
6. Chakra certification instead of organic, Fairtrade and the rest?
7. FAO United Nations: international recognition in 2023
8. How a Chakra is structured in the Amazon rainforest

The Sello Chakra Amazonica certification

The Sello Chakra Amazonica certification was established in 2019 to improve the living conditions of families in the Amazon.

It promotes the production, sale and consumption of sustainable organic products without imposing costs on farmers and cooperatives. It also involves the producers and, with them, Kichwa traditions and guarantees sustainability and quality for the Amazon ecosystem, where plants, animals and people live together.

The certification also encourages collaboration with local markets and supports women’s work in the chakras, markets and every area of production, including jewellery and medicines.

Images from www.corporacionchakra.org

What the certification stands for

The Sello Chakra certification originated in cooperatives formed by Kichwa communities themselves. It reflects many people joining forces locally and globally to secure recognition and raise awareness of the importance of a way of using the rainforest that has been practised for thousands of years: the “ancestral” system for producing essential goods in the Amazon rainforest.

In practice, the certification focuses on the following values defined by the Kichwa themselves:

1. Conservation of the Amazon ecosystem
2. Food security for families
3. Creating sources of income for families
4. Local organisation

What grows in a Chakra?

A Chakra is a living ecosystem. It includes specific elements that may be temporary and rotational, or permanent. Together, they reflect the flora and fauna of a secondary forest. These include:

• Trees, for example for timber
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Spices
• Herbs
• Medicinal plants
• Plants whose leaves, stems and seeds can be made into jewellery, dyes and clothing
• Plants used for spiritual purposes

All these plants grow together and provide a home for animals and insects such as:

• Pollinators such as bees and butterflies
• Seed dispersers such as birds
• Mammals
• Amphibians
• Reptiles

Traditionally, it is the responsibility of the “Chakra Mama”, the woman or women in a family, to put these aspects of the Chakra into practice. She also involves the men, boys and girls in the family. 

The Chakra: a place full of life

Another important aspect of the Chakra is the exchange between families. No two chakras are exactly alike. Their structure varies according to the needs of each family and the community it belongs to. This allows food, medicine, knowledge and culture to be shared continuously.

The Chakra is a biotope, a place full of life where families engage creatively with nature and learn to live in harmony with it. Although this landscape is shaped by people, it allows its flora and fauna—and the wider Amazon ecosystem—to thrive in their own right.

 This diversity comes not only from combining different plants, but also from the fact that no external fertilisers or pesticides are used in a Chakra. Fertilisers and pesticides are produced within the Chakra itself. For example, tubers and leaves from certain plants can be fermented into a liquid that helps protect against pests. Plants that require a lot of nutrients are planted next to plants that bind nitrogen from the atmosphere. 

All of this takes a great deal of work, knowledge and dedication.

The nine principles of the Chakra certification

1. Promote the Indigenous worldview of the Amazon
2. Natural and agroecological cultivation
3. Promote the inherited knowledge of the Kichwa people of the Amazon
4. Promote community and association-based organisation
5. Ensure diversified production for food sovereignty
6. Women in leadership roles and family integration
7. High biodiversity
8. Sustainable, diversified production for important markets
9. Maintain the natural landscape of the Amazon rainforest to build resilience to climate change

To follow this short video more easily, choose English subtitles or automatic translation in YouTube’s settings, if available.

Chakra certification instead of organic, Fairtrade and the rest?

None of these certifications excludes the others. Still, it is fair to ask why companies and farmers’ cooperatives should use several certifications. 

For the cooperative GUYA works with, the cost of organic certification alone runs into five figures. This cost recurs every year. GUYA also incurs additional costs for a further organic certification in Europe, which are already in the four figures. Unfortunately, the main beneficiaries are neither the cooperatives nor companies such as GUYA, but private companies that hold the official licences to certify.

Trade and consumers have long been unwilling to pay significantly more for organic products. By the end of the supply chain, conventional and organic products often cost much the same. Like conventional retailers, organic retailers also seek to make a profit and have to present and justify their annual growth figures to investors. Higher profits for large companies often mean lower profits for farmers.

In my view and experience, organic, Fairtrade and similar certifications are no longer fit for purpose, especially when compared with a certification created and managed by the producers themselves. They lack a holistic approach and also bring high costs that are often unaffordable without public-sector subsidies.

FAO United Nations: international recognition in 2023

In 2023, these efforts also came to the attention of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It recognised the Chakra as an official agricultural system and even awarded it the title “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems” (GIAHS).

In other words, these are “agricultural production systems of global importance that are worth preserving”.

This also confirms the immense value the Chakra brings—not only to the Amazon rainforest and its inhabitants, but to the entire planet.

The FAO describes the Chakra in these words, among others:

A Chakra is a productive area for families and communities that always imitates the structure of the forest surrounding it.

How a Chakra is structured in the Amazon rainforest

A Chakra takes its structure from the surrounding rainforest, although it is much more open than the dense forest, which allows little light to reach the ground.

The canopy is formed by tall trees, which provide shelter from excessive sun and rain while also offering a habitat for birds, for example.

The intermediate layer contains a variety of fruit trees, palms, cocoa, maize, papaya, oranges and lemons.  Depending on the plant species, this layer can grow up into the canopy.

The ground layer is a dense carpet of plants such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, squash, vanilla and pineapple.

Although these basic features apply to every Chakra, each one is different. This reflects the varying needs of the families and communities described above.