Slash and burn is a subsistence farming method used by 300 million families in the tropics that contributes over two billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year. Families cut down and burn a patch of rainforest in order to create an area of fertile soil on which they can grow their food. The fertility of the soil, however does not last. This crop failure and subsequent erosion forces families who depend on slash and burn to keep clearing fresh areas of rainforest every few years just to survive. Inga alley-cropping is a simple, proven alternative to slash and burn. Different potential options investigated by Dr. Mike Hands in conjunction with Cambridge Univ. (with research and development projects in Costa Rica and later in Honduras), yielded vital insights into why slash and burn works in the short term, but then fails so quickly. The findings are held to be applicable to a wide range of soil types across much of Latin America. The only sustainable system to emerge from Dr. Hands 20 years of scientific research was Inga’s system of alley cropping, which uses nitrogen-fixing tree species from the genus Inga. The Inga trees maintain soil fertility and good harvests every year, breaking the cycle of slash and burn and allowing families to gain long-term food security on one piece of land. Inga alleys outcompete the aggressive, invasive weeds so no pesticides or herbicides are needed. In their second year, the pruned Inga trees’ foliage and trunk provides mulch for the alley and firewood for the families’ kitchens—saving native trees from being harvested. This closed system is a revolutionary cycle – sustainable, organic food for the families, cash crops like pepper and pineapple – all grown organically; a resilient system which also protects water sources and prevents erosion, thus protecting reefs. Inga alley cropping in Honduras has dramatically transformed the lives of 240+ subsistence farming families, planted over 1.75 million trees, and effectively serves as a model for environmental sustainability and ecological resiliency. We are in year 6 of our 10 year "Land for Life" program which was recognized by MIT in 2017 as the only agroforesty system to be selected for SOLVE for carbon reduction. Our system eliminates the need for farmers to slash and burn and ends this devastating cycle. No one else in the world is implementing this kind of proven, complete, and integrated ecosystem regeneration which can be scaled to the entire tropics with indigenous or analog tree species. Healthy forests are key to the planet’s survival and Inga alley cropping can protect and preserve rainforests while providing sustainable food and income to millions of people around the world.
Lorraine Potter