Focus of Action
The planting of trees is the fundamental catalyst of healthy ecological change utilized by Camino Verde. With more and more research indicating the importance of trees as builders of the atmosphere, stabilizers of whole ecosystems, and greenhouse-gas filters, trees are planted as an active and living embodiment of our commitment to ecological health and sustainability. Rather than undertake complex and highly specialized projects and programs, Camino Verde is fundamentally dedicated to planting trees and encouraging others to do the same. Our primary pillar is to keep the Madre de Dios region of Peru, and beyond, as green as possible, fiercely protecting remaining virgin forests as well as repopulating deforested areas with trees.
Just as importantly, trees and perennial tree-based agriculture systems represent a viable and even favorable economic alternative to more common forms of agriculture (in the southern Amazon of Peru for example, slash-and-burn cultivation for the production of annual grain crops). By understanding the commercial potential of available native and non-native fruit trees, hardwoods, and medicinal species, small-scale farmers are given the option of a more ecologically stable orchard style of farming that would no longer require annual intrusion into and destruction of virgin forests. Tree cultures of this kind also inhale carbon and provide oxygen, even as they produce other useful fruits and products. Existing plant nurseries are identified and supported, and Camino Verde will create and maintain a plant nursery focusing on useful species that are not yet available elsewhere. Species with a potential for high economic yields are emphasized and promoted for benefit of farmers. Thus the planting of trees also embodies our vision of economic stability for often disadvantaged human communities in this region and beyond.
Instead of creating more of the kind of education programs that historically have trivialized the knowledge and practices of local communities, Camino Verde’s goal is to influence the local population through example, patience and compassion, rather than courses and lectures. Information, techniques, and even plant species are to be readily shared with anyone who seeks them out, yet out of deep respect for the wisdom of rural, indigenous and agrarian people we are careful never to preach or evangelize, only to share with goodwill and deference those elements of our work that we know to truly be of benefit. If local interest and enthusiasm so dictate, practical courses and trainings will of course be offered. Agroforestry, Permaculture, Biointensive and Natural Farming systems can be all be shared, as well as indigenous farming techniques taught by the natives themselves to their mestizo (non-native) peers.
These goals and principles of action are to be carried out with our two centers—at La Joya and Baltimori in the department of Madre de Dios in the southern Peruvian Amazon—acting as bases. At each of these sites, Camino Verde is in the process of creating “storehouses of biodiversity” or living seed-banks. The fundamental purpose of these centers is to actively protect the region’s incredible biodiversity through the conservation of virgin forests and the maintenance of planted “orchards” of native and non-native plant species to serve as a source of practical knowledge about these plants as well as to provide seeds and saplings of the important species. These centers are places of study and observation as well as active interaction with the ecosystem; the centers may also eventually become home to permanent workers as well as short-term researchers, volunteers, or casual visitors, places used for educational and “residential” tourism as well as courses and practices for local farmers and university students. These two locations would serve as the locuses of activity for all of Camino Verde’s works in the region. The land for both centers has already been acquired and programs have already begun at both. For further information on these centers, as well as information on specific projects and our broader vision for the long-term, please see our projects.
Camino Verde is in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 charitable organization in the United States. Our board of directors convenes annually in Massachusetts, and our founder lives year ‘round in Madre de Dios, Perú.
