Each day we'd do a planting demo to start and
then the indigenous communities and volunteers
planted trees, sometimes in the pouring rain or
blistering heat, undeterred. At the end of each day,
we had 200 trees left for distribution for folks to
take back to their farm plots and terrain for their
own economic use. (CONAPAC had organized com-
munities ahead of time to nominate families in
each community that should receive the trees.)
We planted at this time of year because it was the
beginning of the wet season, so we knew there'd
be natural rainfall on our side; folks in the com-
munities are also providing supplemental water
from the Napo River. For mulch, tree planters used
crumpled dried banana leaves—everyone has
banana trees growing everywhere—and sticks, a
combination that worked very well. The fruit trees
in some planting locations needed protection from
livestock browsing, so folks were really ingenious
about creating a barrier of sticks, stacked up in the
manner of split rail fences, around young trees.
The nurseryman who grew the trees is local to
Iquitos and will be providing support and guidance
for the first year after planting. CONAPAC is facili-
tating the connections for locals to sell the fruit via
companies in Iquitos. I expect much of the fruit will
be floated up the river, processed and frozen, then
exported around the world (açaí bowl, anyone?)
We visited orchards from last year's projects, and
survival rate is over 90 percent! Plants grow fast in
the rainforest; most of these fruit trees will produce
fruit in two years. Orchard recipients are highly
motivated, as they see the orchards contributing
significantly to their family's health and wellbeing.
There is a big and visible push in the local school
curriculum to highlight the value of the Amazon's
biodiversity. Kids now are talking about what their
ancestors focused on—stewardship of the land. >
34 CityTREES
Nurseryman Pedro Paucaraja explains his production methods, including his grafting of citrus. Paucaraja was
commissioned to grow all the plant material for FTPF to donate to the communities involved in this trip.
