Brazil is home to the biomes of Amazonia, Mata Atlântica & Cerrado.
The Amazon
Native tree seed collection in the Brazilian Amazon
With funds raised by iGiveTrees this year, Ashaninka native tree seed collectors now have climbing equipment to harvest seeds safely and efficiently. Photos below are from prior years, pre-pandemic, in a different part of the forest when they were last able to do large scale seed collection. Since purchasing new climbing equipment for the 2023 harvest, they still need funds to train teams how to safely climb for the treetop harvests, as well as transport them to remote areas for collection. Then seeds must be cleaned, sorted and taken to a laboratory where they are tested for viability before being sent to nurseries where they will be propagated for planting.
The Atlantic Forest
Our 2021-2023 field partners Fazenda Sertão, in the biome of the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest), in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, began the restoration of an endangered species palm Euterpe edulis Martius on their own land.
Commonly known as juçara, jussara, açaí-do-sul or palmiteiro, it’s a palm tree native to the Atlantic Forest. Its fruits are highly appreciated in cooking and have high nutritional value. As it is a plant that grows in a more shaded area of the forest, it is being introduced in agroforestry systems that are already in place, which guarantees that they will be cared for together with the other species that are present in the planted areas.
Since Fazenda Sertão is an established organic farm using syntropic agroforestry methods, while educating their local community, we see great potential for cooperative growth. We are now creating a master plan to scale up their agroforestry plantings.
The Cerrado
In 2022 we welcomed new field partners in second biggest biome of South America, Cerrado, in the state of Goiás, Brazil. It is fundamental to the hydric balance of South America. Threatened by the expansion of soy monoculture, only 20% of its original vegetation remains intact. Today it is one of the most endangered biomes of the planet, inhabited by “invisible” people.
The Chapada Verde Project, is a socio-environmental project that contributes to the conservation and restoration of the Cerrado biome, producing seedlings of native species along with native communities, providing technical support for reforestation and running environmental education activities.
Our first pledge to this extensive project, was to support the operation of this newly constructed greenhouse for tree seedlings to be used in community reforestation projects. In the video below you’ll see a local neighbor who was given tree seedlings to plant on his land in exchange for a load of compost. Our pledge has been fulfilled and we will continue to support their outreach.
Brazil is home to the biomes of Amazônia, Cerrado, Mata Atlântica, Caatinga, Pantanal and Pampa.
