Mater Iniciativa

Scenario

Plant extinction has become one of the most widespread effects of climate change felt around the world. Currently 59 countries are listed as experiencing severe food insecurity (GRFC, 2024), with about 1 in 11 people going hungry (WHO, 2024).

Of the 350,000 plant species on our planet, about 80,000 are considered edible for human consumption (Füleky, 2009). Nevertheless, the IAEA lists only 3 major crops as the basis of most of the world’s diet (see IAEA, 2012). All three of these crops, potatoes, wheat, and maize, have been highly industrialized, subjected to monoculture practices that have made them largely dependent on fertilizers and pesticides.

The declining yield of these crops is becoming more and more evident, and as a result, hunger is increasing. The problem lies in the fact that we consume very few varieties of plant species and therefore there is little genetic diversity among the crops we consume. Genetic diversity is critical to the ability of plants to adapt to new conditions caused by climate change (Hofmann, 2021).

To cope with climate change, the consumption of native crops is crucial. Because these crops are grown in their places of origin, they have a stress-resistant gene that makes them resistant to phenomena such as drought and heat stress (Chen, 2023). Nutritional value is also higher in native crops because they have not been subjected to human selection (Fanzo, 2013).

Economically, native crops support local supply chains because farmers can harvest their own seeds (Mgwenya, 2025). These crops do not require large amounts of water or use pesticides and herbicides, so farmers spend less to adapt to climate change. These practices help support local economies, which generally have greener outcomes and greater circularity.

Description

Mater Iniciativa, founded in 2013 in light of growing concerns about the loss of native plant species in Peru, has since become an interdisciplinary center for the study and consumption of these native crops. The initiative, led by co-director Malena Martínez, who works together with her brother and sister-in-law, Virgilio Martínez and Pia Leon, embraces circularity in the form of the “AYNI System,” a form of reciprocity and mutualism in communities in the Andes (Peia, 2021).

The Chacra MIL Agricultural Research Center is committed to integrating traditional agricultural knowledge with the recovery of ancient seed varieties, as well as helping to adapt current seed varieties to the harsh climatic conditions of the site, which is 3,600 meters above sea level. So far, the seed bank has expanded to involve the participation of two local Andean communities, K’acllaraccay and Mullakas-Misminay, who have exchanged their knowledge of native seeds and learned new agricultural techniques to strengthen seed resilience in the face of problems caused by climate change.

In the circular biogarden, experimentation with these seeds comes to life. The on-site garden incorporates a range of agroecological and indigenous practices that are central to the project’s philosophy. Maway, an early tuber planting method to increase crop rotation, is one manifestation of this. In 2024, the garden recorded the harvest of 11 different crops, including 71 varieties of potatoes. The garden is multipurpose, diversifies the seed bank, serves local farmers in the AYNI system, and supplies the MIL restaurant.

Finally, the on-site MIL restaurant is critical to the co-evolution of this project. MIL presents itself as a restaurant that follows the farm-to-fork (“farm-to-table”), where the consumption of ancient plants is central to the consumer experience. Produce from the circular organic garden is used to create a seasonal tasting menu that allows consumers to learn more about the eating habits of their ancestors.

The key players in this initiative include a “multidisciplinary group of specialists-biologists, anthropologists, ethnobotanists” (Martínez, n.d.) collaborating on a three-part project (Chacra MIL, the circular biogarden, and the MIL restaurant) that are interdependent on each other in their evolution.

Bibliography