Carolina Moncayo

For women mineral selectors in Ecuador known as jancheras, a new gardening initiative allows families to generate additional income and provides a source of food security in times of emergency such as those currently being experienced around the world.

Ecuador's Ministry of Environment and Water, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) have provided USD $299,229.50 for the development of six projects to reduce pollution generated by chemical substances, specifically persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury.These actions will benefit 11,873 people in the provinces of Santa Elena, Pichincha, Azuay, El Oro and Zamora Chinchipe.

For years an association of women artisanal miners in Ecuador has dreamed of generating another economic activity by promoting the use of materials extracted in the area through goldsmithing, which they believe can provide a way to represent their culture and, in the future, promote tourism. Their dream will soon be a reality as new funding has been provided to implement a goldsmithing workshop.

Read more in this article from our partner project in Ecuador.

For many women miners who scavenge for gold among rocks discarded by larger mining operations, the outbreak of COVID-19 has threatened their ability to make ends meet each day. In hard-hit Ecuador, help arrived for these women and their families in the form of food and cleaning supplies financed by voluntary contributions by their fellow citizens.

Part of our series lifting up the voices of women miners in observance of International Women's Day, this article spotlights female miners in Ecuador known locally as "jancheras," and the actions our partner project, the GEF-funded National Program for the Environmental Sound Management and Live Cycle Management of Chemical Substances, is taking to support them.