An Overview Of Our Solution
Associação Terra Terra has been supporting, since 2001, Education, Culture, Environment and Sustainability in the Visconde de Mauá Region, RJ. It is born from the objective of promoting sustainable agroecosystems as well as supporting local educational initiatives. It promotes a Demonstration Unit, Fazenda São José, certified organic and has about 10 springs that are preserved providing drinking water to 350 people from the village of Vale da Cachoeira. It promoted the Participative Local Guaranty Group where about 25 productive units participate. The management is directed to the production and beneficiation of the vegetable, producing hortifrutigranjeiros, medicinal herbs and condiments. Since 1986 has the Herbs Workshop project that has matrices of 62 species in its herb garden supporting and hosting since 2014, the group Women of Mantiqueira.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: South America
General Information
Organization type
Other
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Freshwater
Oceans/Coasts
Population impacted
2500 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
5 ha
Production quantity
1000 kilos
People employed
7 people
Solution
Describe your solution
Throughout the years of experience in the Serra da Mantiqueira, the Nova Terra team developed strategies for the transition from Fazenda São José and the neighboring farmers to the organic production system. Among these strategies the most fruitful were the implantation of the beekeeping sector in the property, increasing the pollination in the Farm. Agroecological agriculture, promoting the protection of springs and the enrichment of the soil through the planting and conservation of forests, management of organic matter (composting, mulch), diversified planting of fertilizer and companion species, Crops, level planting and vermicomposting. The control of pests and diseases is obtained from the balance of the productive system, rich in animal and plant species. It also uses the planting of attractive species for insects "pests", the citronella syrup and finally the natural baits obtained from organic producers. To replicate these exemplary actions, the Association promotes training of farmers and stakeholder groups, as well as working with the local organic certification group. The Mantiqueira Women group has been studying, practicing and spreading the use of medicinal and spice species, supplying herbal products and teas to the health post and the local population. It works with projects and financiers to make feasible the proposals, increasing the economic security, food and the health of the population.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
The Fazenda São José, until the year 1988 was a unit producing bovine cattle. As of this date, the grazing was oriented in smaller and less impacting pastures. In the year of 1993, the brushstrokes in favor of the regeneration of the local vegetation stopped. Since then, the estate ceased cattle breeding and began plant production. In the year 1998, a fire devastated the properties of the region and the Solution was the preservation of the springs. As stated, the use of fire was one of the main difficulties encountered and in this regard, the group started to campaign with the Mantiqueira APA and the local public power, promoting the training of brigade agents. Another difficulty is in relation to local business, for example tourism, could support local agroecosystems instead of buying their products in the CEASA State Supply Center where products are obtained in polluting production systems. In this sense the group co-created the Association of Organic Producers of the Region of Visconde de Mauá to gather, train and dispose of the productions in a more sustainable way. Organic fairs have been created, one store and currently the group also makes deliveries of product baskets in the residences. Through the Participative System of Guarantee, the group observes that all the producers involved and others of the region began to use the techniques practiced in the Farm. Thus generating the seal of organic quality that enhances and enhances the economic and food security of the public involved (producers and consumers). In this course, favorable conditions such as the support of the city of Resende the fair of organic farmers. Through the articulation with the NEA - Center of Studies in Agroecology of Mantiqueira and APROVIM, the group was created to produce and commercialize products, as well as to attract and make feasible the certification of new farmers in the region. One of the main factors of success was the growing market demand for organic products.
External connections
Among the main partners are the Association APROVIM, https://web.facebook.com/Aprovim-MAU%C3%81-Org%C3%A3nicas-701689189856767/ supporting the collective purchases, the participative certification of organic with the Association of Producers Biological Services of the State of Rio de Janeiro http://abiorj.org/, obtaining points of sale for products training and exchanges of experiences. The NGO. Crescente Fertil, http://crescentefertil.org.br/index1.htm, contributing to the management of the Rio Preto river basin. The APA (Environmental Protection Area) Serra da Mantiqueira, which supported the creation of the fire brigade, the local school where the group promotes training and recently the NEA (Núcleo de Estudos em Agroecologia da Mantiqueira) https://web.facebook.com / Groups / 671702179545088 /? _ Rdr, acting in the articulation, organization and capacitation of the farmers of the region. Through a partnership with APROVIM, a group of extractive collectors of the Araucaria tree fruit (Araucaria angustifolia) were identified that could certify their harvests and improve the pine nut processing in flour and byproducts, guaranteeing greater food, cultural and economic security of the population Of region. The Mantiqueira Women's group, which is based at Fazenda São José, is partnering with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply through the Department of Health of the Municipality of Volta Redonda producing phytotherapeutics for health posts in the state.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
The Nova Terra Association is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira Environmental Protection Area and among the challenges are the clearing of forests for the planting of monocultures and cattle breeding. The region is touristy and the high flow of people promotes pollution of the water and the environment. Associated with tourism activities, the region undergoes a disorderly growth that increases the local environmental degradation and promotes real estate speculation and with this the farmers sell their land and leave the region, discharging the local culture. Challenges such as the lack of implementation of public policies for agriculture; Access by roads is very precarious in the region and there is no infrastructure for locomotion. In this way, the Nova Terra Association comes with the purpose of promoting and practicing techniques that mitigate environmental impacts associated with reforestation and agroecological food crops.
Describe the context in which you are operating
The Nova Terra Association operates in a region where agriculture loses space for tourism and summer occupations. The pastures and monocultures of maize, beans and eucalyptus have been promoting the pollution of water, air and soil through the use of phytosanitary products as well as soil erosion and silting of water courses. In its Demonstration Unit, Fazenda São José, has been promoting soil enrichment and water conservation through agroecological management. The São José Farm, which until 1984 was a pasture area, currently has preservation areas in harmony with agroecological production. Due to the lack of public policies, communication difficulties and dislocation on the precarious roads of the region, it works in partnership with APROVIM Producers Association, Fertile Crescent Association, School of Light, CEFLURG - Eccentric Center of Universal Light Fluent Rita Gregório And the APA (Environmental Protection Area) Serra da Mantiqueira.
lease include facts/figures where possible.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
The main form and solution found for increasing regional biodiversity was the promotion of agroecological management in agroecosystems and thus the conversion of former pastures to cattle in areas of native forest or managed under the agroforestry system was done, mainly for the protection of Properties. The organic production system maximizes the potential of native and spontaneous species utilization through the use of weeds in the enrichment and protection of the soil and in this way the productive systems became very biodiverse, finding greater resilience. Networking has strengthened the local productive initiatives that currently participate in forums with the government in relation to the implementation of public policies.
Language(s)
Portuguese
Water
Through the implantation and maintenance of the reforestation areas, natural or planted, the springs present in the locality of the Cachoeira Valley, located in Visconde de Mauá, currently provides potable water for the local population and its hotel structure. Level crops and soil cover present in organic management allow rainwater to seep into the soil and help maintain local water sources.
Food Security/Nutrition
The promotion of networking, exchanges of experience and seeds has promoted a greater diversity of food items for farmers and the local population, ensuring a substantial increase in food security. Products such as juçara and pinhão obtained in the native forest, the rescue of the traditional seeds like the peanut, the cassava, the beans, the corn, the yam and the pumpkins among many other foods began to compose the plate of part of the population of the Region of Viisconde de Mauá.
Economic/Sustainable Development
The promotion of the collection and processing of the pinhão with the local population increased the opportunities of economic income because the pine nut in the market was sold at very low prices and the pinhão flour allows the processing in cakes, bread and hundreds of recipes. Once the pulp obtained from the seeds of the juçara palm tree, besides being sold in natura, it began to benefit from food products. The agroecological production has also guaranteed higher yields from the beneficiation
Climate
The main results regarding the improvement of the climate were mainly in relation to the fact of the incentive to reforestation, the protection of the springs, to the extractive and agroforestry management to promote the maintenance of areas of accumulation and infiltration of water and thus contributing as a fragment for the maintenance of the Forest corridors in the Serra da Mantiqueira.
Sustainability
Currently the Brazilian government maintains public policies for the promotion of family production and such policies include the financing of agricultural projects for these properties. In this way, government financing supports the development and commercialization of products from family agriculture, although the greatest economic sustainability comes through the organization of the region's producers and the flow in the local market. The weekly organic fairs, the sale in the store of the network and the home deliveries are the main means of disposing of the productions.
Return on investment
The Associação Nova Terra team currently observes the fruits of a work of more than 19 years with the local partners. Private financial investments and through sponsors or supporters have secured much of the current structure of production and marketing of local products. However, the determination of the participants has been fundamental for achieving the results achieved.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
To replicate these solutions, it is necessary to create supportive agents and a whole chain of partner entities, governmental or civil society. Training processes in techniques guided by agroecological systems that promote the alliance between theoretical and practical teaching. The proposal is to establish demonstration units based on successful local initiatives. Such educational processes need to be associated with meetings to exchange experiences, create public policies, form local markets and collective purchases. In this sense, the institutions proposing this local participatory development will be more successful if they are in partnership with local associations and groups, governmental and educational institutions. Put in terms of funding, a proposal like this could develop a region and about 30,000 inhabitants from an amount close to R $ 1700000,00, ensuring the establishment of about 300 local farmers and extractivists.