By Robin Van Loon | Executive Director
Dear friends,
Recently I read that here in the Peruvian Amazon, an illegal thousand-hectare oil palm plantation was detected in satellite images. (You can read the article here.) Oil palm plantations mean deforestation and tremendous biodiversity loss in many areas of southeast Asia, and the news of their arrival to Peru is a scary omen. Alarmingly, it's estimated that in Peru over 13,000 hectares of rainforest have been leveled for oil palm so far.
Grappling with problems of this magnitude can feel hopeless, and I've seen many activist friends grow embittered through years of "tenuous, temporary victories and permanent defeats" (as one of them described the environmentalist's predicament). Especially at a time of year when we've recently honored the power of gratitude, it feels important to focus not on what's wrong, but rather on the possibility of doing something about it.
But back to the oil palm plantation nightmare. With the brainstorming energy of several allies, and in keeping with the permaculture maxim that the problem is the solution, we sought out an alternative vision to the oil palm monoculture; the result is what we've been calling an oil polyculture. Think of a forest rather than a plantation-- native trees that branch out to meet ecological goals as well as diverse and reliable productivity in order to provide decent livelihood for the human caretakers of the system-- in this case, farmers rather than plantation hands.
The oil polyculture we envision includes over 20 species of trees providing a diverse range of edible, medicinal, and aromatic oils. Remember rosewood? Think of those richly perfumed trees interplanted with cacao, native palms, brazil nuts, and more. The seedlings that make up the first 2-hectare oil polyculture demonstration site are literally on the boat right now on their way to our reforestation center. We are celebrating the holidays and the coming of our rainy season by planting over 2500 trees in the next two months. This first model plot will pave the way to planting the oil polyculture with participating farmers in coming years. Can you tell I'm excited?
This is a time of great productivity and growth-- and is also a time when organizations like ours receive the great majority of our funding. It's my pleasure to share some of our many advances and to reach out to our supporters and friends to ask that you include us in your holiday giving this year. Plant a tree (or ten) in honor of a loved one and help us keep the Peruvian Amazon diverse and resilient.
And now, for a limited time, donate $30 or more and get a Camino Verde t-shirt, or donate $50 to receive a dram of our completely unique Amazonian essential oil of moena alcanforada, distilled on site at our reforestation center-- the only source in the world of this essential oil.
Thank you for helping us grow! Warm greetings from Tambopata,
By Robin Van Loon | Executive Director
By Robin Van Loon | Executive Director
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