Abstract
Water is a multidimensional element for the indigenous communities of the Andean highlands. The Kichwa community Fakcha Llakta, of Otavalo, Ecuador has a close relationship with the existing water bodies in their territory. However, traditional knowledge associated with these resources is fading, giving way to new forms of use. The purpose of this research is to reveal the meanings of water for this indigenous community, in order to propose guidelines for sustainable resource management. It is an ethnographic study with a qualitative approach. The information was collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation by the research team, and the gathering of cultural objects. The findings were organized and sub-grouped according to four recurring elements: vital and sacred; diversity of use and value; a threatened natural resource; and the sustainability of water from the ancestral perspective.
Keywords:
water sustainability; meanings of water; indigenous community; ethnoecology
