Minga (collective activity) organised to fill the bags ©FLORIANE DE LASSEE
Tena, Ecuador, July 2024
The fifth year of planting has begun in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As part of this project, Ishpingo, A Tree for You‘s local partner, is working in four communities: Machakuyaku, Yana Urku, Kuya Loma, and Sindy. Since these communities are far from towns and the main road, their situation is highly precarious. In this extremely poor agricultural area, major socio-economic and environmental issues are at stake, as well as preservation of resources and biodiversity, and the resilience of the local population.
The project began at the end of 2023 with the local partner identifying the communities to benefit from this planting phase. These new communities were contacted and Ishpingo presented the environmental and social objectives of the project. Volunteers were then invited to sign up.
During the project presentation meetings, beneficiaries understood the importance of the project for their community, whose land has been completely deforested. Timber trees have been systematically felled for domestic use or to be sold. Those remaining are widely dispersed and offer very little specific diversity. What’s more, members of these communities are totally dependent on middlemen for selling their farm produce (plantains, manioc, and maize) and live in extreme poverty. Agroforestry will help them diversify their sources of income and significantly improve their diet.
A total of 83 beneficiaries were selected for this planting phase, of which 22 men and 61 women. It is interesting to note that this gender difference is because in Machakuyaku the beneficiaries are a group of women who have been organised around a community tourism project for many years.
Beneficiaries from the Machakuyaku community ©Ishpingo
Once the project had been explained, the community authorisations received, and the beneficiaries selected, it was time to set up the community nurseries.
To produce the seedlings needed for this project, four nurseries were set up, one in each beneficiary community. As for all the community nurseries supported by the project, the beneficiaries took part in the various tasks at each stage. During an initial minga (collective work session) in February 2024, each nursery was built using local materials (palm trees, bamboo, etc).
Up to June 2024, several more mingas were organised to prepare the substrate (a mixture of black soil taken from the site and Bokashi organic fertiliser prepared by Ishpingo), fill the bags (see photo), and then to maintain the nurseries. During this community work, local inhabitants were also trained in techniques for transplanting young seedlings and direct sowing in bags.
Minga (collective activity) organised to build the community nurseries ©Ishpingo
Between March and June 2024, the local technical team gradually brought regeneration seeds and seedlings, which were immediately planted in the bags filled with soil. The young plants are slowly developing in the four nurseries under the watchful eyes of amateur nurserymen/women. At the end of June 2024, a final inventory was carried out to find out how many plants are currently growing and the diversity of species present:
- Machakuyaku nursery – 1,811 timber plants and 2,802 viable fruit plants, totalling 4,613 plants to be distributed among 23 beneficiaries.
- Yana Urku nursery – 1,430 timber seedlings and 2,151 viable fruit seedlings, totalling 3,581 seedlings to be distributed among 18 beneficiaries.
- Kuyaloma nursery – 1,500 timber seedlings and 2,268 viable fruit seedlings, totalling,768 seedlings to be distributed among 19 beneficiaries.
- Sindy nursery – 2,788 timber seedlings and 1,799 viable fruit seedlings, totalling 4,587 seedlings to be distributed among 23 beneficiaries.
A total of 6,540 timber and 10,009 fruit trees were produced, totalling 16,549 trees produced and ready to be planted at the homes of 83 families.
Minga (collective activity) organised to prepare the substrate (a mixture of black soil taken from the site and Bokashi organic fertiliser prepared by Ishpingo) and fill the bags ©Ishpingo
A total of 13 species of timber have been used for this reforestation, all of which are endangered and virtually non-existent in the project area. This year, two timber species were added to the reforestation plan: Sande (Brosimum utile) and Chuchuwaso (Monteverdia laevis). As well as being excellent quality timbers, these two species also have medicinal properties and are widely used in traditional pharmacopoeia. Sande produces a white latex used to treat stomach problems, while Chuchuwaso bark is used as a decoction or alcoholic extraction for respiratory and flu problems.
For fruit trees, 22 endemic and/or introduced but non-invasive species adapted to the work area and the needs of local populations were used.
Up to the end of 2024, the beneficiaries will be collecting the plants from the nurseries and planting them on their plots.
Catch up soon for more news from the field!
