BIODINAMICS AND SEEDS OF LIFE

project

PROPOSING INSTITUTION

TINGUI ASSOCIATION

Conservation, use and shared management of agrobiodiversity in the semi-arid region of Minas Gerais in the Vale do Jequitinhonha

AREA

AGRICULTURE

REGION

MIDDLE VALLEY, JEQUITINHONHA – MG

YEAR OF SUPPORT

2022

The Challenge

The current government of Minas Gerais has invested and encouraged large mining and agricultural enterprises in the state affecting initiatives with less or no environmental impact and people’s health, besides not considering as development the perspectives of social justice, cultural safeguarding and belonging. For Vale do Jequitinhonha, a region already punished by the advance of large-scale cultivation of eucalyptus, aimed mainly at mining processing plants, incentives are being planned for the cultivation of transgenic cotton, which aggregates the use of pesticides in its production

The Project

The Biodynamic and Seeds of Life project aims to promote the training of quilombola rural workers and their families in Silvopasture and Biodynamic Agriculture for the conservation and multiplication of native seeds in agroecological consortia with cotton, one of the main raw materials for local crafts. In addition, it proposes to map guardian families, local seeds, and traditional management, to support seed houses, to provide training and technical support, and to exchange knowledge.

The Impact

Generate a significant increase in the number of families involved in the conservation, planting, and cultivation of native cotton, thus rescuing the tradition of the “cotton cycle”; in addition, seeds will be reintroduced in the plantation, with an expected production of 0.5 tons in this first year. A virtual regional catalog of native seeds and a planting calendar will also be collectively produced. It is hoped that the project will contribute to the strengthening and permanence of cultural practices that were once forgotten, and that the sense of identity of the communities involved will be rescued.