PIJÁL: A KAYAMBI COMMUNITY


Pijál is a rural agricultural community of about 3000 indigenous Kayambi located at 2700 meters (8910 feet) overlooking the Imbabura Volcano and Lago San Pablo (Ecuador's largest lake) in Imbabura Province.

Like most Indigenous communities in Ecuador, the residents of Pijál served as indentured workers on a hacienda until the land reforms of the 1960s when they received communal title to their land and legally formed the community that exists today. Even until the 1980s the residents of Pijál were under a land tenure system called Primicia where the Catholic Church took a percentage of the best crops in exchange for legal services like marriages and the registration of births.

In an effort to preserve their Kayambi culture and foment sustainable economic activity to combat out-migration, the residents of Pijál have formed a Community Tourism organization called Sumac Earth.
With the help of CASA Interamericana, Sumac Pacha has built four eco-tourism cabins in a beautiful mountain valley on community land. These cabins serve as a center for hikes throughout the area and a center for cultural programs and inter-cultural exchange.

Sumac Pacha is also in the process of implementing a community trout nursery to improve nutrition and food security, as well as a community run micro- business.