The project increases the 35,000 trees "Rio Sol Bio Corridor", planted 2011, by 3.4 hectares or 3,500 trees making a grand total of 44,000 trees (44 hectares) of restored forest @ the Maleku Indigenous reserve along the Rio Sol. Angel will focus on planting as many varieties of native fruit trees as possible, like Cacao, Pataste, Breadfruit, Mangos, etc. He has 1000 Cacao trees ready for planting now and will add another 2500 trees of more that 100 different species to his existing nursery.
There are two problems the project aims to solve. First, the lack of forest cover on the Maleku Reserve. The second, and something we haven't proven empirically, is the young age that most of the Maleku pass away, most before they reach the age of 60 years. We believe one of the reasons is the lack of fresh fruits and medicinal plants available to the tribal community. The idea of this project is to provide abundant native fruits and medicinal plants to benefit and improve the tribe's health.
By planting a variety of fruits, seeds and nuts the project aims to provide vital resources for the tribe. The Maleku use the pataste tree for its nutritious nuts and medicinal healing properties and cacao is sacred, used ceremonially to bathe the dead and is their favorite drink, called "cahuli". Mango, orange, breadfruit and myriad other trees will be planted for the community to have available fresh at any time and we suspect this will improve the health of the entire tribe
The increase in forest cover along the Rio Sol will protect the river and aquatic life and purify the waters that run off nearby farmlands. By focusing on planting native fruits, nuts and seeds the project will continue to provide food and vital resources for the tribe and as the wildlife continues to increase in the adjoining corridor, planted in 2011, this project will provide even more habitat for them, especially food.
This project has provided additional documentation in a XLSX file (projdoc.xlsx).
