Refloresting the rainforest with food or agro-gastronomia

Agroforestry systems (or SAF) mixes crops with forest crops, allowing food production while recovering the soil and promote biodiversity on site. During a weekend we travelled together with Kadija de Paula and Rodrigo Krul to sitio Nebulosa, in Resende ( RJ ), Brazil, to study and prepare the SAF, and finally plant the system in a small area.

 

During a weekend we travelled together with Kadija de Paula and Rodrigo Krul to sitio Nebulosa, in Resende ( RJ ), Brazil. On my way to Nuvem, the space that hosted the 'agrofloresting' course, the main question was: is 'deforestation' a reality ?

We were invited to 'process' the cacau seeds to be planted the day after, apparently to eat the covering part around the seeds is a tradition.

 

Later on, the kitchen and the fire outdoor were so inspiring, the possibilty to cook on open fire was there and I had to take it ! We made a pumpkin stew topped by fried galanga that has been collected previosuly near to the waterfall's shore.

 In the mean time Tomaz was showing us his collection of mais corn seeds and dried crops, reaped during his trips around South America, supported by an extense book collection about agrofloresting.

The day after we started an intense activity of 'refloresation' incorporating trees as eucaliptos but also palm trees and madiocas, alternating corns with cacau plants.

The last after we have been covering the planted land with a sort of a 'salad' in my vision, made of mango leaves, straw, branches and banana leaves and truncks. In this way we reacreated a natural behavior, the one of composting and protecting the soil from extern sun rays, to faciliate a humid base for the coming forest.

After a consuming morning, we had to reinforce our working bodies with some lunch, so we decided to cut a mature palm tree, pupunha, to eat it's heart.

Therefore we cooked it with some mandioca roots, thinking about the future harvest of 'agro-floresta'.

The menu was already quite nutritious but we thought it could be fun to make an agro-focaccia and to plant in the bread. We fermented the dough the day before and finally add some sunflower seeds and some spinach, by planting them into the focaccia.

When the palm tree heart was ready and to celebrate our generous surroundings and indigenous cooking we decided to prepare a variation of the pre-colombian tamales.

The activity was facilitated by Tomaz Ribeiro Lanza, Agronomist and graduated in Agricultural Sciences formed in UFRRJ, educator and researcher in the field of Plant Production, Agriculture Tropical Fruit Crops, Agroforestry and Agroecosystems, Master in Plant Science from the same institution and currently a doctoral student in Horticulture UNESP.

Big gratitude to Bruno, Mariella, Alberto, Luana, Pablo, Gabi and the rest of the farmers.