Peru: Sustainable farming in the rainforest | Global Ideas

The jungle around Iquitos is home

to more species
than almost anywhere else on Earth.

It's a kind of paradise,
but it's under threat.

Just 15 years ago,
giant trees grew near the city.

Now they're floated down the river
from further away

because there are none left here.

Deforestation is on the rise,

logging yields valuable timber

in which there's a large illegal trade.

And forests are being cleared
for large plantations.

[Chainsaw noise]

But smallholder farmers
also cut down trees,

as they have done for centuries.

Like here in Três Unidos,
not far from Iquitos.

The farmers clear the land by hand,

tree by tree.

Then may burn them.

It's a common practice
throughout the region.

[Speaking Spanish]

It's bad for the environment.

It releases large amounts
of greenhouse gases.

Deforestation in the Amazon region

is continuing, as is soil erosion.

Burning timber shortens
the nutrients cycle,

it kills the macro and the micro fauna.

[Speaking Spanish]

The erosion means the rain
washes away more and more soil,

and the land becomes useless.

[Speaking Spanish]

Initially, the ash actually
makes the soil more fertile,

but only for one season.

The following year crop yields
generally are smaller.

The farmers move on,

leaving behind fields
that are little more than sand.

[Speaking Spanish]

When you see TV reports

about the great biodiversity
of plants in our region,

you might think the soil in the Amazon

is fertile and good for farming.

But only four or five percent of the land
is suited to agriculture.

That's why farmers
have to burn the biomass

to provide the soil with carbon
that crops need to grow.

[Speaking Spanish]

Cutting down trees is not optional
for the people living here,

it's a key element
in their farming practices.

At the same time,

they're gradually destroying
the very basis

of their livelihood.

[Speaking Spanish]

We didn't even have
to pour gasoline on it.

We'd let the wood dry for three months.

We only burn
when the wind isn't too strong.

Otherwise, the fire could spread.

My children and I keep watch.

A couple of times the fire
got too close to our house...

we doused it with lots of water,

but when the fire is further away
we just let it burn.

Everybody around here does it.

Everyone in the area.

Most farmers here
grow pineapple, bananas, or yucca.

This kind of mono culture
tends to deplete the soil.

Eider Perez has farmed this land

the conventional way for five years.

Now he's learning something new.

The Chaikuni institute, an NGO
devoted to permaculture,

has started a pilot project in the region

to stop fields being cleared by burning.

It introduces
what it calls Chakra integral,

an organic farming method

in which the land is cleared of weeds,

and plants are pruned selectively.

[Speaking Spanish]

We're tapping the forest here
to create a Chakra integral.

Without burning.

And we've planted a lot of plant species,

edible plants, medicinal plants,

timber and fruit trees.

[Speaking Spanish]

The organization says it's working
with local communities

to reactivate knowledge
from pre-columbian times.

Ancient wisdom

that was passed down
by word of mouth within a few families

on how to farm the jungle sustainably,

and keep it healthy.

[Speaking Spanish]

Indigenous people don't burn their fields.

[Speaking Spanish]

My mother taught me
how to set up a Chakra Integral.

You can see this farm wasn't burned,

it has a lot of organic matter.

Here you can see leaves and branches
that haven't been burned.

It's been composted,

so that the soil retains
its moisture, microorganisms,

and other tiny creatures.

Setting up a Chakra Integral requires

a lot of knowledge
of the rainforest plants.

Which ones need lots of light?

Which ones grow in partial shade?

What are their life cycles?

What kind of soil do they need?

And how far apart should they stand?

This is cotton,
it also has medicinal uses.

This is cedrela,
the wood is used in construction.

And yucca, you can eat the roots.

This is a young banana plant.

The Chakra Integral concept

is designed to provide
a wide variety of foods

in every season.

Once it's up and running,

it lasts longer than burned fields,

and produces more.

Workers and farmers in the area
are being trained,

so that they can pass on
what they've learned.

[Speaking Spanish]

I'm looking forward to this.

I know that I will produce more,

and plant on the land again and again.

I'll be doing it like this.

Here there's been no burning.

We harvest some of the plants

and we leave some of them to dry out

and be used as fertilizer.

The main thing
is that the harvest is better,

and it's better for the environment.

It's a win-win situation.

Using ancient agricultural expertise

to restore the power of the jungle.