Because the Waorani culture was typically nomadic, their chacras were placed at different distances from the community and these practices are still common. One chacra was placed very close to their house, another was placed about 30 minutes away, walking-distance, and yet another was placed one to two hours away. Every time they moved their house, they settled down next to one of these chacras. That way there was always a chacra at a distance; thus, it was less used and had more time to recover from its past use.
Nowadays the Waorani do not grow many of the plant species they used to grow. This has happened due to the introduction of non-native
In many Waorani communities, non-native plant species have been introduced for their ornamental value and are grown next to their houses.
 |
Chacra is a Kichwa word meaning “traditional garden.” The Waorani people have continued to grow their food in these traditional gardens for generations.
Although the women are the ones that mainly work in the traditional gardens, it is not rare to see the Waorani men helping the women with the chacra’s maintenance. Additionally, all the work that goes into the chacra’s preparation (cutting trees, cleaning the bushes, etc.) is carried out by the men.
One of the main plants that the Waorani grow in their gardens is the cassava (Manihot esculenta). The tubers of this plant are big and long, with a lot of fiber, and are whiter than potatoes. The Waorani boil them and eat them as a side item to the meat. However the main use of these tubers is the preparation of the Chicha (Yeye in Waorani language). The chicha is a mild alcoholic drink that women obtain by chewing the tubers and leaving the resulting pulp to ferment. Plain tubers are made of carbohydrates, however, once fermented the nutritional value increases considerably, making the chicha an important and valuable part of the Waorani diet. All ages of the Waorani people drink the chicha, including suckling babies.
 |
 |
