Bio-Garden Project

One of the most abundant resources we have in Manu is abandoned land. Most of it has either been logged or cleared for farming and pasture which have long since departed. The farmers and loggers have moved on to virgin forest areas and the used land stands empty and unused. Our concept is to rehabilitate this land through the creation of a garden in the first stage; to produce food for the household (which can be sold to tourist operators that regularly use the Manu region). Secondly to create a long term financial resource for the farmer. Vegetables are planted alongside young trees in the same bed. The crops protect the trees in its most vulnerable stages and by the time the garden has been harvested for several seasons the trees have become established. These can be left and the garden moved onto another plot of degraded land to be rehabilitated.

Our biogarden at the MLC is vital in this process; it serves as it is a sustainable model of small scale subsistence farming and reforestation. It also produces valuable nutritional crops via a variety of techniques including; improved composting, crop diversification, natural pest control and cooperative strategies to maximise crop output. Local people are invited to learn about our facility and encouraged to adopt this type of approach in their own farm, with our support.

Please see the latest field report here: