Gabriela Loaiza is a young leader of Peru's largest Machiguenga community, San José de Koribeni (Cusco), where she has served as chief on two occasions and has long worked to rescue and promote the traditions of her people and rewrite their own history.
In 2021, Gabriela applied to Conservation International's Indigenous Women’s Fellowhsip Program, where she has developed leadership skills thanks to the support of mentors and a regional support network. Today, these experiences have allowed her to access additional funds to continue rescuing of the magona potato (Dioscorea spp.), a potato at risk of disappearing, traditionally cultivated by women from indigenous communities.
“It's a very beautiful experience because I'm not only working on the technical and scientific side, discovering 17 varieties of yucca or cassava, but also learning the techniques of our grandparents, like using the first cassavas to trick the majaz (Cuniculus paca) so that it doesn't eat the rest of the plantations,” adds Gabriela Loaiza.
“It's a very beautiful experience because I'm not only working on the technical and scientific side, discovering 17 varieties of yucca or cassava, but also learning the techniques of our grandparents, like using the first cassavas to trick the majaz (Cuniculus paca) so that it doesn't eat the rest of the plantations,”
Adding value
Together with 16 women, they have consolidated their association, “Mujeres emprendedoras de raíz amazónica” (Women Entrepreneurs of Amazonian Roots), and seek to improve their income while ensuring food security for their community. In addition to reviving the magona potato, they are also rescuing varieties of Machiguenga cassava seeds and creating delicious snacks and flours for local sale and consumption.
Thanks to Gabriela's leadership, they now have a small processing plant where they wash, peel, slice, and fry the various snacks. For the flours, they have a solar dehydrator where the tubers remain for four days before being ground and packaged under the brand name they have developed themselves: KIPATSI, which means “earth” in their language.
Kipatsi seeks to break into new markets and has been present at ExpoAmazónica 2025, Peru's largest Amazonian business fair and showcase for innovative proposals that seek to strengthen the local economy and connect producers with national and international markets. Gabriela was present at the four-day fair, offering her wide range of products.
Gabriela knows that women's leadership must be shared and cannot rest solely on her shoulders. The learning and experience she has gained from her participation in the Indigenous Women of the Amazon Program have made her a role model for the future of other women and young people in her community, where the Machiguenga people fight with conviction to live proudly and in harmony with nature.
“My commitment is and always will be to preserve Amazonian biodiversity. To do this, we need to strengthen female leadership through sustainable initiatives that not only originate in the region but also protect and promote our territory,”, afirma Gabriela Loaiza.