Also just received some great news from Yanapuma in their bi-monthly newsletter. Turns out that a couple of weeks ago they arranged a visit by a group of Tsa'chila from the Búa community to Finca Sarita, the organic agroforestry farm I visited in March (see blog entry on April 2). Apparently, the community members were very impressed, and as I had hoped this could lead to continued exchange of knowledge about more sustainable agricultural practices that could greatly benefit the Búa community and their land.

I had first learned about Finca Sarita from people I met at Rio Muchacho last November. Then after my visit in March and discussions there with Servio (the owner) about the needs of the Búa community, I met with people in Búa and Yanapuma staff in Quito to discuss how the farm could serve as an model and valuable source of agricultural and community development knowledge for the Tsa'chila communities, particularly Búa. My intention in all this was to bring Servio and the Sarampión community together with the Búa community through the assistance of Yanapuma. I believed, as did others at Yanapuma, that seeing a real-life example of a better alternative could be more helpful and motivating than hearing about one in a series of workshops.

written by  cjones on July 8, 2008 from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
from the travel blog: so-journ
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

FUNCEDESCRI hopes that the community designed and managed education programs they are enabling will promote better agricultural practices for health and the environment, and a more localized economic system that will better support the communities.

written by  cjones on July 4, 2008 from Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
from the travel blog: so-journ
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

Low tide in Piúma

In the past few days, as I've been making conversation with people, a number of them have told me I speak good Portuguese! But then others didn't understand a word - just stared open-jawed and giggled, as if I was from another planet! Haven't seen other gringos since I left Iracambi on Monday.

written by  cjones on June 6, 2008 from Piuma, Brazil
from the travel blog: so-journ
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

Noticed on the bus trip yesterday all the destruction of forests and soils in this part of the country, being used mostly for monoculture coffee plantations and as pastures for cattle. While in Central America much of the coffee is grown along with and in the shade of other tree species, here in Brazil - by far the largest coffee producer in the world - almost all of it is grown in the sun. This is very harmful to the soil and biodiversity, and requires much chemical use that damages the health of people and other life besides the targeted pests.

As I logged on to my email account just now, I noticed a news article on Brazil's new environment minister talking about cracking down on illegal cutting of forests for cattle grazing. The article says that burning to clear new or overgrown pasture in the Amazon accounts for about 75 percent of Brazil's production of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. That doesn't even consider the loss of trees to absorb atmospheric carbon, nor the cows' production of methane, which is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. And not just in the Amazon but in other areas of Brazil like the Atlantic rainforest where I was working. These could be some good reasons to eat less beef - to reduce the demand - and if you eat it to be more selective about where it comes from.

It seems that cattle grazing is a particularly destructive use of land in the tropics. Aside from the methane, it requires a lot of land for the quantity of food produced. But there are other destructive land uses, and good laws against deforestation exist - they're just not enforced and wealthy landowners have a lot of influence on politicians and the police. Without more enforcement, better economic alternatives and/or more conscientiousness about preserving nature - whether from a biblical or other perspective - I think the rainforest will continue to be destroyed for one purpose or another.

So what's a better alternative to the cattle? We need to be careful about what we substitute so that the cure isn't worse than the disease. The forest needs to be restored but people need income, although if they can produce their own food and trade with their neighbors they need less.

On the topic of cures worse than the disease: During my time in South America, I've been thinking, observing, reading about and talking with people about the effects of both oil extraction and the production of biofuels here. It's been well publicized that oil exploration and extraction have been destructive to forests, wildlife, rivers and people. One particularly glaring example occurred during the 70's through the early 90's in northeastern Ecuador, where the volume of oil spilled is estimated to have been 30 times that of the Exxon Valdez spill. And of course oil use contributes to global warming. But when land use is considered, the large-scale production of biofuels may have an even more detrimental impact on the climate (and on ecosystems in general) than oil.

Brazil is a major producer of biofuels - mostly from sugar cane but also from corn in the north. I saw smaller-scale production of a plant called mamona, grown for fuel oil alongside coffee at a farm next to Iracambi. Noticed that in the gas stations you can buy alcohol for much less than gasoline, and I heard that some people use this for travel within the city and gasoline for longer trips on the highway for more power.

written by  cjones on June 3, 2008 from Vila Velha, Brazil
from the travel blog: so-journ
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

Also earlier this week I received the map data I was waiting for to complete the Bua map. Finished the map, which can be opened in a free program called ArcReader and allows a user to interactively explore and query the underlying map data, for example crop types, family names and areas of parcels.

At Iracambi, the new GIS coordinator arrived on Wednesday so we have a few days of overlap for me to transfer what I've observed, learned and managed to accomplish here before I leave. Made some progress with the reforestation map and cleaning up the data organization on their computer network. Also learned more about the agricultural and economic situation here and the lives of some of the local families. The reforestation plan, of which the map is a part, includes agroforestry areas to be used for experimentation and demonstration to producers in the surrounding communities.

I feel blessed to have this success and completion of the work I initiated within the past 5 months. After some setbacks, it's been encouraging.

written by  cjones on May 31, 2008 from Rosario da Limeira, Brazil
from the travel blog: so-journ
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...

Last weekend I visited an experimental organic coffee farm in the local community of Graminha. The weekend before I went on a 13-hour pilgrimage hike to a cross on a mountaintop in Serra_do_Brigadero state park with Virgilio from Iracambi and several others from Graminha - an annual tradition here on May 3, known as the celebration of Santa Cruz.

During the week, I've been working on the computer system here - resolving map data organization and compatibility issues, and evaluating the quality of the existing map data. I've also been using the GIS to help develop a reforestation plan for the Iracambi fazenda. Most of the property is currently used for agriculture including cattle, tilapia (fish), sugarcane and eucalyptus for timber, but some of the pasture is planned to be converted to forest using seedlings from the tree nursery here for the production of medicinal plants or agroforestry crops.

Sunrise over mountains in Graminha

Destination of pilgrimage on the day of Santa Cruz

The fish farm at Iracambi

Harvesting eucalyptus

Presentation in Rosario (notice maps)

Iracambi's Marcelo - the Brazilian Neil Young

View from the cabin at Iracambi

The accommodations are here seem more comfortable than in the other communities where I worked, including good food, showers and internet access. Planning to put my software background to use on the GIS project as well as to learn about and hopefully contribute to agroforestry, environmental education and alternative income generation efforts in the community.

written by  cjones on May 1, 2008 from Rosario da Limeira, Brazil
from the travel blog: so-journ
Send a Compliment

---

comment on this...