Florence Goupil

Documenting the preservation of more than fifty-four varieties of corn in Peru and sixty-five in Mexico, this project follows Indigenous agricultural and spiritual knowledge that has safeguarded these seeds for over 7,500 years—an ancient heritage now at risk of disappearing. With deep dedication, Quechua and Wanka elders cultivate the land through ancestral practices, protecting native seeds as a spiritual and ecological form of resistance.

“We plant the seeds with the power of our singing,” says Magdalena, a Wanka elder. Faced with state neglect and severe droughts, these elders bridge ancestral wisdom, agricultural knowledge, and community resilience. For them, the struggle is not only about maize, but about cultural survival, spiritual language, and the right to preserve an ancestral legacy. Each variety carries its own story, meaning, and purpose.

“My grandmother first drew me into this world, telling me stories of the maize she once grew in her Andean homeland. Her voice, memory, and archive run through this work as a personal bridge to the resilience of Indigenous women.” In times of environmental and cultural erosion, their songs, gestures, and rituals become acts of resistance.