Indigenous women leaders from different regions of Peru met in the city of Lima to participate in the face-to-face seminar of the Leadership School of Indigenous Women, a joint initiative of the International Indigenous Women Forum (IIWF-FIMI) and FAO. 13 indigenous women representatives of organizations related to women empowerment, nutrition, agriculture and other fields came from diverse regions of the mountain and forest areas of the country to learn about food security, nutrition and human rights. This capacity building programme has also been devised to teach women advocacy tools that will enable them to promote actions in support of food security and nutrition in their communities.

The women, who were participating since September in the School through a virtual platform, arrived to the seminar with many expectations and happy to be able to exchange knowledge and share this space for reflection with women from other indigenous communities. "Teaching spaces like this School are essential for women to implement food security issues in their families and communities. As peasants, we are the basis of the food chain, without us, in the cities they would not have what to eat. That is why it is important to work on food security with us," commented Blandina Contreras, leader of the Confederación Campesina de Peru.

The School of Leadership has also a strong component of women empowerment, aiming at supporting indigenous women who are often discriminated against in their communities. As such, it was also a space to reflect on their role: "When we talk about women and food security we need to realize that women are vital on the production of food. It is us who produce, who prepare the food and feed our families. We are convinced that in our houses we need to eat our own foods. We indigenous peoples are not poor, on the contrary, we are very rich because we have nature, and nature is alive," asserted Judith Paucar, from the Puno province. 

So far, 97 indigenous women from Peru, Bolivia and India have strengthened their knowledge and capacities to become advocators for food and nutritional security, as well as gender equality in their communities.