Intercultural health education for the revitalization of traditional food systems: a focused ethnography in a Kichwa community, Ecuador
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61347/psa.v4i2.193Keywords:
Ancestral knowledge, ethnography, Indigenous communities, intercultural health, transcultural nursingAbstract
Traditional Indigenous food systems represent spaces for the transmission of biocultural knowledge, whose continuity faces sociocultural transformations. This study aimed to analyze intercultural health education practices embedded in community activities and their relationship with the preservation of traditional food systems and the intergenerational transmission of biocultural knowledge in the Kichwa community of Santiago de Quito, Chimborazo, Ecuador. A qualitative study using a focused ethnographic design was conducted between October 2025 and February 2026. Data were collected through 196 hours of participant observation across 22 fieldwork sessions, a reflective field diary, and informal ethnographic interviews with five key informants. Data were analyzed using Spradley’s cultural domain analysis model and triangulation of methods and sources. Four cultural categories were identified: the biocultural cycle of the land, minga and community reciprocity, food rituals and intergenerational transmission, and tensions between tradition and modernization. Agricultural activities, quinoa winnowing, collective maize shelling, and food rituals served as spaces for collective learning through participation and intergenerational knowledge exchange. The study concluded that these practices contributed to the continuity of traditional food-related and cultural knowledge, offering opportunities to develop intercultural health education strategies within community nursing. However, direct effects on health indicators were not assessed.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Tatiana Alexandra González Verdezoto, Gregoriana Mendoza, Angelo Ivan Cepeda Gonzalez
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