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Family Farming46 almanaCthese fruits have more than just cultural and gastronomic value; they are also used in traditional medicine. Chañar, for example, is used to cure inflamma- tion in the respiratory tract.The potential risks of losing biodiversity and traditional cultures have been rec- ognized not only by the national govern- ment, which has launched reforestation programs, but also by international and local organizations, like Co.M.Ar. (Co- operativa de Mujeres Artesanas del Gran Chaco, the cooperative of Gran Chaco women artisans) and the Fun- dación Gran Chaco. They work along- side the women from the Wichi, Qom, Qomle’ec and Pilaga indigenous com- munities in the Formosa and Chacoprovinces, encouraging them to share their knowledge about cooking and preservation techniques, and to find dif- ferent recipes and ways of adding value to each fruit. This is a simple but impor- tant step. Often the different communi- ties do not know how the others work, and this isolation is a potential obstacle to a virtuous form of cultural mingling. The next step will be the production of a cookbook, in Spanish and the native languages of each indigenous commu- nity, to record, preserve and spread this knowledge in writing.the women and the projectSIn the Gran Chaco region, the wom- en have always been responsible for© arChIVIo Slow Food