Regenerative Agriculture: How Sumak Runa Will Grow Food, Soil, and Community

At Sumak Runa Eco-Village, we’re dreaming of a different kind of future—one rooted in ancestral wisdom and forward-thinking ecological design. Our mission is to create an ecovillage that not only sustains life, but regenerates it.

In our regenerative agriculture program, we plan to blend the traditional land practices of Indigenous communities in Ecuador and beyond with modern ecological innovations like permaculture, aquaponics, and vermiculture. Once we have the land and resources secured, we’ll begin building hands-on systems and offering immersive education so that visitors can reconnect with the Earth and carry sustainable knowledge back to their own communities.

🌀 What We Plan to Practice and Teach

🌾 Permaculture: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Design

Permaculture is often framed as a modern design movement—but at its core, it reflects ancient ways of living in balance with the land. Before the arrival of European colonizers, Indigenous peoples across the Andes and the Amazon practiced holistic land stewardship that nourished ecosystems and communities alike.

In the spirit of these ancestors, we plan to design our gardens, infrastructure, and social systems around permaculture ethics:

• Care for the Earth

• Care for the people

• Return of surplus (fair share)

Using this framework, we will implement systems like food forests, rainwater catchment, compost toilets, natural buildings made with local materials, and more. Permaculture will be our blueprint for long-term balance and abundance—one that’s informed not just by theory, but by the ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa, Shuar, and other Indigenous peoples of Ecuador, who have stewarded these lands for generations.

🐟 Aquaculture & Aquaponics: Closed Loops and Living Systems

In pre-Columbian civilizations like the Inca and the Maya, water management was both sacred and scientific. These cultures engineered sophisticated terraces and irrigation systems to manage water efficiently in mountainous and tropical ecosystems.

Inspired by this heritage, we aim to establish small-scale aquaculture and aquaponics systems that demonstrate how water, plants, and animals can thrive in synergy. In our planned aquaponics installations:

• Fish waste will provide organic nutrients for vegetables

• Plants will filter and clean the water

• Water will recirculate in a closed-loop, mimicking natural aquatic systems

We believe these systems will serve as living examples of reciprocity, where every part contributes to the whole. Visitors will be able to participate in setting up, maintaining, and harvesting from these integrated systems, gaining skills that can be replicated in both rural and urban settings.

🌿 Polyculture & Companion Planting: Gardening with Diversity

Before industrial agriculture simplified food production into monocultures, Indigenous farmers around the world practiced interconnected farming, growing multiple crops together in patterns that mimicked natural diversity.

One of the most well-known examples is the “Three Sisters” method used by Indigenous communities across the Americas: corn, beans, and squash—each plant supporting the others in structure, nutrients, and protection. We plan to bring this type of synergy into our gardens by planting polycultures and teaching companion planting techniques that:

• Naturally deter pests

• Improve soil fertility

• Create a more resilient and nutritious harvest

Our gardens will reflect the diversity of the ecosystems around us and the cultures that inspire us, creating living models of ecological harmony.

🐛 Vermiculture & Soil Regeneration: Feeding the Earth (and Ourselves)

Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy life. We plan to regenerate our soil by embracing vermiculture, or worm composting—an ancient technique that’s still one of the most effective ways to recycle organic matter into living soil.

Our on-site worm bins will be designed to transform food scraps, garden waste, and natural fibers into rich worm castings—a natural fertilizer teeming with beneficial microbes. We will teach visitors how to:

• Build and maintain worm composting systems

• Create compost tea for organic plant nutrition

• Use vermiculture as a model for closed-loop living

And here’s something many people don’t know: composting can generate heat. We plan to run water pipes through our compost bins, using the heat from decomposition to warm water in floor heating—a simple, brilliant system inspired by low-tech innovations used in regenerative farms and villages around the world.

🌎 Why Regenerative?

Sustainability means maintaining the status quo. Regeneration means giving more than we take. At Sumak Runa, we believe the Earth is not just something to preserve—it’s something to heal, co-create with, and celebrate.

We’re committed to building a future where:

• Soil is alive

• Water is honored

• Food is medicine

• Community is interwoven with ecology

Through our regenerative agriculture program, we will offer hands-on learning that connects people with the land, the past, and the possibility of a more balanced future.

Whether you’re a backpacker, student, retreat leader, or lifelong learner, we invite you to be part of this story. One seed, one worm, one cycle at a time.