From the IX Region of Araucanía in southern Chile, Iván Rodrigo Curiqueo Camargo brings to the Nyéléni forum the voice of the Wallmapu Territorial Economies Network (RET), a convergence space that for the past 18 years has united organizations inspired by Mapuche and peasant worldviews, as well as the principles of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE).
RET seeks to recover local economic practices, restore ancestral knowledge, and propose new forms of territorial management, always guided by küme mongen (Buen Vivir or Good Living). Among its contributions are self-managed local markets, the revival of the Mapuche garden model, the defense of ancestral seeds through Trafkintu gatherings, and the building of solidarity networks between rural and urban communities.
In a territory marked by climate crisis, rural depopulation, and threats to ecosystems, the network promotes the care, reproduction, and exchange of seeds; education based on the cycles of nature —Walüng, Rimu, Puken, and Pewü—; and the creation of fairs and markets as spaces for intercultural exchange, fair economy, and the preservation of biocultural diversity.
In his symbolic suitcase, Iván brings to the forum the piñón, the seed of the sacred araucaria tree —a millenary food of the Indigenous peoples of southern Chile, and a symbol of resistance, nourishment, and life for Mapuche communities.
