Taday’s agrofestive calendar - Ecuador: a methodology for creating a sustainability experience with a dialogue of knowledge approach

Abstract

San Andrés Taday is a rural parish located within the province of Ca-ar- Ecuador. The dominant economic activity is agriculture. Ancestral knowledge is transmitted over generations in practices such as that of the Agrofest calendar which seeks to implement and harvest family orchards for self-consumption. Agricultural activities, festivals, and rituals linked to the land and their cultivation are carried out according to the month of the year and the climate. This calendar also includes different types of dishes and culinary options (gastronomy) according to the available products. Agrofest acknowledges the need for balance between agricultural activities and caring for the environment and therefore it ensures. The main purpose of this paper was to explore and gather information regarding the agricultural and festival calendar or Taday and the methodology we used to get this information. This methodology acknowledges that the oral culture compiles certain practices that are part of the Andean cosmovision. Stories and tales of the oral culture expose the social memory and identity of a place. The UNAE (National University of Education) focuses on the articulation of research, the work with the community, and teaching. In the first phase of the research project ‘Ancestral knowledge, education, societies, and cultures’, the aim was to reconstruct and recognize the ‘Agricultural and festive calendar’. The project systematically compiled information on the oral ancestral knowledge of people through participatory workshops with families that own the orchards. These processes were essential in building an educational establishment focused on the dialogue between knowledge and the preservation of the environment.