Food and livelihood security

The camelid-agriculture system of northern Chile supports local food security and livelihoods through the sustainable use of diverse mountain resources. Llamas and alpacas provide meat, fiber, transport, and manure, while traditional crops such as potatoes, quinoa, and maize are cultivated in small plots. These components are deeply interlinked: camelid manure fertilizes crops, while crop residues are used as forage. Herders manage family-owned herds across communal rangelands, ensuring year-round food availability despite the arid conditions. High-altitude wetlands (bofedales) are critical for dry-season grazing, allowing animals to maintain condition and productivity throughout the year. Products such as wool and meat are used both for home consumption and local trade, reinforcing household income and dietary diversity. Livelihoods are further supported by knowledge-intensive practices like rotational grazing, seed saving, and seasonal calendars, which reduce risk and optimize limited resources. Despite isolation and limited market access, families maintain a diversified livelihood strategy based on adaptation, cooperation, and a close relationship with the land and animals.

Agrobiodiversity

This system conserves locally adapted breeds of llamas and alpacas, as well as a wide range of native crops that thrive in high-altitude, arid environments. Farmers cultivate traditional varieties of quinoa, potatoes, broad beans, maize, and squash, often selected and exchanged through community networks. The combination of crops varies by elevation, exposure, and water availability, ensuring resilience in the face of climate variability. Camelids are essential not only for their productive roles but also for maintaining ecosystem balance. Different breeds are selected based on purpose (meat, fiber, or transport), and herders maintain genetic diversity through communal practices and selective breeding. Their movement across landscapes contributes to seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, and the regeneration of native pastures. Agrobiodiversity is also enhanced by the integration of wild plant gathering, including herbs, fruits, and medicinal species. These contribute to food, medicine, and spiritual life, while reflecting deep ecological knowledge. The system’s biodiversity plays a central role in climate adaptation and risk mitigation for small-scale Andean producers.

Local and traditional knowledge systems 

The system is guided by ancestral knowledge passed down through generations within Aymara and Quechua communities. Land use is shaped by traditional calendars based on solar and lunar cycles, while herding routes and grazing rotations reflect centuries of observation and adaptation to harsh Andean conditions. Knowledge is transmitted orally and through practice, from elders to younger generations. Decisions on planting, harvesting, breeding, and grazing are often made collectively, grounded in environmental cues and communal norms. This includes concepts such as ayni (reciprocity) and minka (collective work), which sustain not only the production system but also social cohesion. Rituals and ceremonies also form part of this knowledge system, reinforcing respect for nature and the spiritual value of land, water, and animals. These include offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and protective spirits of the mountains, which accompany seasonal tasks and strengthen the relationship between people and their territory.

Cultures, value systems and social organization 

Culture is inseparable from agriculture in the highlands of northern Chile. The camelid-agriculture system embodies a way of life rooted in Indigenous cosmologies, collective work, and spiritual connections to nature. Herders organize their year around seasonal rituals such as marking ceremonies for animals and festivities associated with sowing and harvest. The landscape itself is culturally inscribed: sacred mountains, bofedales, and herd paths are linked to myths, ancestors, and spiritual guardians. These places are part of everyday life and community identity. Practices such as collective herding, shared pasture management, and ritual offerings express values of solidarity, stewardship, and interdependence. Local governance is maintained through community assemblies and family networks that regulate access to land, water, and pasture. Despite demographic and economic pressures, these institutions remain active, sustaining both the production system and cultural heritage. The system also reinforces Indigenous identity in a national context where rural traditions are often marginalized.

Landscapes and seascapes features 

The camelid-agriculture system unfolds across a diverse highland landscape shaped by millennia of human-environment interaction. Terraced fields, bofedales, corrals, and grazing routes are distributed between 3,000 and 4,500 metres above sea level, forming a mosaic of productive and cultural spaces within a fragile mountain ecosystem. Bofedales—high-altitude peat wetlands—are key ecological features. They store water, sustain forage, and regulate hydrological cycles, enabling year-round grazing. Their preservation depends on careful water management, local agreements, and minimal external disturbance. Terraced fields and stone corrals demonstrate long-term adaptation to steep slopes, erosion, and aridity. The visual landscape is marked by camelid caravans, isolated settlements, and mountain ridges with ceremonial significance. Seasonal movement across altitudinal zones reflects vertical complementarity, where different ecological levels are used in coordinated ways. This living landscape represents the physical and cultural integration of people, livestock, crops, and nature.