An Overview Of Our Solution
Mutirão Agroflorestal (Agroforestry Joint effort) is a social movement and a network started in 1996 based on the ideas developed by Ernst Gostch, swiss farmer, researcher and creator of successional agroforestry and Syntropic farming. Many people joined this movement to learn agroforestry by doing; and went on together sharing dreams and actions, promoting joint efforts, courses, training processes, consulting, producing food in agroforests and spreading this “seed”. Mutirão Agroflorestal is based in three nucleus: Fazenda São Luiz (where headquarter is located) in São Paulo State, Sítio Diversitah in Minas Gerais and Aldeia Altiplano Leste in Brasília. Each nucleus develops local projects and agroforestry production, being always connected to the network and to the group goals.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: South America
General Information
Organization type
À but non lucratif
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Population impacted
1000 directly and more than 5,000 indirectly
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
60 ha
Production quantity
300 kg of coffee at São Luiz site, vegetable and fruits weekly for 20 families at Altiplano Leste site, 15kg of apple (first year production) at Diveristah site. All site produce for auto consumption
People employed
11
Solution
Describe your solution
Agroforestry is a technique of planting diversity of crops with diversity of trees into a dynamic based on the nature cycles which promotes an increasingly rich environment, also gaining the name of Syntropic farming. The agroforestry areas creates resources while it produces food having human being part of the environment. Agroforestry, within the agroecological scenario, reinforces the biodiversity valorization, the use of trees tropical agriculture, the constant production of organic matter and, in essence, a view that the human being is a participant in the ecological web.
At the three site of Mutirão Agroflorestal we have use thoses agroforestry diverse systems both to restore degraded lands, to obtain production for auto consumption and commercialization and to raise awareness and build capacity of interested people through worskhops, training, practice and learning activities, etc.
At the Altiplano Leste site, a Community Supported Agriculture experience has been conducted since july 2016 involving 20 families.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
Since the beginning, in 1996, more than 50 activities of capacity building involving more than 1,000 people have been developed, more than 100 areas were planted through "mutirões" (collective work), more than 500 teenagers participated on our workshops, and more than 100 state extensionists from São Paulo and Brasília were trained.
- Specific activities and/or specifically what your solution does to address the identified problems above in the Context Analysis section
- How you ensured your solution was adopted and promoted change in human activities
- Enabling conditions
- Key success factors
- Any obstacles and how you overcame them
External connections
The Mutirão Agroflorestal team is very active on forums, groups, networks, seminars and partnerships with institutions from different sectors. As key partners we can list: University of Brasília, Embrapa, Environmental Secretary of São Paulo State, Community Supported Agriculture Movement.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
There are several social and ecological challenges connected that agroforestry can deliver and show responses. The main challenge for successional agroforestry is to be self sustainable and to improve the soil and environmental conditions thru plants management. It is also a challenge to have high production not using any type of external product.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Fazenda São Luiz is situated in a sugar cane plantation region, very degraded, having big farms occupiyng the landscape. Few people living in rural areas and no food production around. The focus of São Luiz Farm is on coffee and fruits production, environmental education through agroforestry for several groups, agroforestry courses and assistance to regional settlements. There are several experiences going on such as mechanazition for planting large scale areas. Sítio Diversitah is located in high altitude, cold climate, having small farmers and tourists on the territory. The focus is the production of fruits and timber, and also the development of training programs. Aldeia Altiplano Leste is located in Brasília surrounded by people seeking for innovative strategies to face the environmental crisis, healthy products and the knowledge about agroforestry. Aldeia Altiplano is conducting a CSA (Community support agriculture) program involving vegetable and fruits production and training.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
About 60 ha of degraded lands are being restored. Three families daily consumption supplied. 20 families supplied with baskets of vegetables and fruits per week. 300 kg of annual coffee production in agroforestry systems. Timber trees growing for future supply.
Language(s)
Portuguese
Water
3 whatershed have being their ecosystems services being restored at the three sites, in São Paulo, Brasília and Minas Gerais.
Food Security/Nutrition
Three families daily consumption supplied. 20 families supplied with baskets of vegetables and fruits per week.
Economic/Sustainable Development
Examples showing concrete solutions for local sustainable development in place.
Climate
Local climate have been already be influenced by the increase of forest cover.
Sustainability
The project received some small funds from government and non government funds, co-farmers from the CSA at Aldeia do Altiplano have contribute monthly, products commercialization and many workshops and training, hand on, planning and implementation courses revenues.
Return on investment
The investment was made during these last 20 years and we didn't have precise figures. Surely, results in terms of people trained, restored areas, empiric research and self food and nutrition security have overcome investments made.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Replication have been made through dissemination of principles for the use of local resources training hundred of people during hands on courses and education activities for extensionists and strategic multipliers.