Reflections ·
What ayni means
An Andean word for reciprocity: today for you, tomorrow for me. Why we chose this name and how it guides the way we work.
In Andean communities, ayni names a way of relating based on reciprocity: the help I give my community today will be returned to me tomorrow, when I need it. It is shared work, but also a way of understanding the world in which everything is in relationship: people with one another, with the land and with those who came before.
Giving and receiving in balance
Ayni is not a commercial exchange or a debt to be collected. It is a bond that is tended. Whoever receives takes on the commitment to give back, and it is this coming and going that sustains life in common.
Why this name
We chose to call ourselves AYNI because knowledge of the master plants does not belong to us: it has been safeguarded for generations by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Approaching it with respect means asking ourselves what kind of relationship we are building with those cultures and how we give back what we receive.
For us, reciprocity means:
- Working with Indigenous communities to protect their knowledge, territories and cultures.
- Supporting cooperation projects with peoples of the Amazon and Central America.
- Rejecting extractive relationships, cultural appropriation and biopiracy.
- Looking after one another as members of the association, as a network of support and shared learning.
Reciprocity is also one of the principles of the Code of Ethics of the Red Micelio Federation, of which we are part. An ancient word that is still a good compass.