From the Altiplano and the colonization region of Alto Beni in Bolivia, Ana María Condori Fernández, an Aymara woman, arrives at the Nyéléni Forum with a story shaped by resilience, organization, and hope.
Her journey began in childhood, herding animals and working the land under conditions of extreme poverty. Later, as a domestic worker in La Paz, she endured exploitation and discrimination—an experience that led her to organize other young women to demand labor rights and dignity. In the Alto Beni colonization zones, she spearheaded the organization of peasant and Indigenous women into cooperatives, giving rise to the Central Agropecuaria Industrial El Ceibo, a pioneer in fair trade and organic cacao production.
Today, as a leader of the Community Solidarity Social Economy and Fair Trade Movement of Bolivia (MESyCJB), Ana María works to strengthen peasant and Indigenous economies by promoting agroecological production, the recovery of native seeds, fair and solidarity-based marketing, and the defense of territories. The Movement organizes local fairs and short supply chains, fosters the active participation of women and youth in production, and develops training in community leadership, gender equity, and sustainable management of common goods. It also builds alliances with international networks and regional platforms, advocating for public policies that guarantee the right to food and the protection of Mother Earth (Pachamama).
In her suitcase for Nyéléni she carries native seeds, local artisanal products, and above all, the lessons of decades of collective struggle: that food sovereignty cannot be imposed—it blossoms from the needs and hopes of the people.
