Photo essays

All across Latin America, rural women are taking charge of their communities’ food production – and their own economic and personal development.

The rural uplands of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic are home to generations of proud family farmers who depend on small-scale agriculture, with many still using traditional farming techniques.

From climate action groups to political institutions, youth are taking on leading roles and bringing new perspectives into the table – showing they are not only the future, but also the present.

What comes to mind when you hear the words “sustainable gastronomy”? Some of us focus just on the cuisine and think about delicious – and perhaps costly – dishes.

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to see how rural people see themselves. International organizations like ours tell their stories armed with cameras, notebooks and laptops – and, of course, our own point of view, which is important to compare with theirs.

Extreme weather events, such as droughts, storms and floods, are putting pressure on the ecosystems that farmers depend on, as are gradual processes such as rising sea levels and melting glaciers.

In 2016, the IFAD-funded YARIP project had partnered with the Qujing Zhanyi District Women’s Federation to transform traditional embroidery art into a new source of income and employment. Qujing, located in the ethnically diverse Yunnan province, is home to the Yi, an ethnic group with a population of about 300,000. 

Along the coastline of Mozambique, fishing boats dot the clear blue waters. For the people on these boats, their daily excursions are their livelihood – in more ways than one.