A Brief History
The arrival of settlers in the 1900s brought a wave of colonization that pushed indigenous communities off their lands in favor of urbanization, cattle farming, and agriculture. While the Colombian government initiated laws to redistribute land to indigenous communities, lands allocated to the Kamëntsá were often again appropriated for GMO monoculture crops and cattle ranching, perpetuating the cycle of exploitation, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss.
A Path Forward
OIOC encourages the Indigenous community to shift their approach to land usage. Instead of continuing monoculture and cattle farming, families are provided saplings and educated on implementing regenerative forestry on their lands, such as Chagra Forestry–a traditional Andean agroecological farming system mimicking natural forest ecosystems. Chagra Forestry is a holistic land management practice that integrates agroforestry, carbon sequestration, and cultivation of food and medicinal plants.
What is Regenerative Forestry?
Regenerative forestry is holistic land stewardship that integrates multiple species with various functions, designed along natural water and resource lines to mature into a self-sustaining forest. Multiple layers of canopy and biodiversity are implemented to passively support water retention, soil regeneration, and nutrient-dense landscapes that nourish the environment and provide resources like food, fiber, timber, medicine, and water.
Various regenerative forestry, agroforestry, and permaculture models have been developed worldwide. We will revive traditional indigenous practices of Chagra Forestry (growing certain native crops symbiotically) and partner with International Analog Forestry Network (IAFN) to learn and adapt their researched and trialed techniques of regenerative forestry, developed over 30+ years.
Implementation: IAFN support
A survey conducted with 300+ indigenous community members revealed that 90% of respondents expressed interest in transitioning to organic and ancestral farming practices to cultivate food. The main obstacles preventing this are the lack of information on organic and clean practices, as well as the lack of funding for the transition. Many in the community believe that productivity requires the use of agrochemicals. Additionally, the costs to transition to clean production–like expenses for seeds, land mineralization, and identifying markets for the sale of organic products–pose a significant challenge for those looking to make the change.
IAFN's vision is the reforestation of the planet's life systems, while providing economic opportunities to rural areas. Analog Forestry is a system of ecological restoration that increases biodiversity by imitating natural forests to create economically productive and environmentally mature forests. Analog Forestry is used across 40+ projects over 20+ countries; we’ve visited a demonstration site in Costa Rica, and observed mature Analog Forests and the sale of sustainably harvested Forest Garden Products like essential oils, fiber for construction, textiles, crafts, and value-added organic goods.
Through trainings and practical workshops with IAFN, we’ll apply Analog Forestry principles to observe and record the natural forest's architecture and ecological functions, as well as identify land features and microclimates, map flows and reservoirs, to then design and create mature, stable tree-dominated ecosystems, using ecological processes, following ecological succession and reducing external inputs.
Impact: Cultural, Environmental, Economic Revival
By weaving Analog Forestry techniques with the wisdom of the Kamëntsá people, we rekindle the seeds of regenerative forestry–centuries-old wisdom of the intricate connection between forests, biodiversity, and human well-being. Through regenerative forestry, the Kamëntsá restore the ecological integrity of their lands whilst cultivating a diverse range of resources to meet their needs and generate income through sustainable means. This shift in land usage represents an economic opportunity for the community, a reaffirmation of their cultural connection to the land, and a commitment to environmental stewardship in the face of historical adversity.
コメント