This farmer in the Amazonian forest uses a mix of modern agricultural techniques and ancient Amerindian know-how.
Brut Nature went to French Guiana to meet him.
Brut Nature went to French Guiana to meet him.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to my plot. I'm going to show you what exactly agroforestry is.
00:30As you can see, there is a lot of plant diversity.
00:36Here you have the ruku, which is used in traditional culinary meals.
00:42We have papaya and banana.
00:45We keep as many wild plants as possible, such as the guava tree,
00:49which can bring phosphorus and phosphate.
00:52We're going to let it grow for a while.
00:54Then we're going to cut it and put it at the feet of the bananas, for example.
00:58This is a very precious tree for us.
01:02It's called a sweet pepper.
01:04It's a tree that fixes the nitrogen from the air and restores it to the ground.
01:08It allows the plant to develop.
01:10It's also a nitrogen-fixing tree.
01:14Working like this allows the plant to have good health.
01:18No need for phytosanitary supplements.
01:23The plant grows on its own.
01:26Today, we know that there is a kind of cooperation between the plants.
01:33There are no bad herbs.
01:49An abatis is a cut area that will be transformed into an agricultural plot.
01:54We're going to cut the wood and let it dry for about a month or two.
01:59After that, we're going to burn it so that the plants can feed on the ashes.
02:03It's a very specific technique in the Amazon.
02:07Our ancestors used it.
02:09As you can see, the soil is full of coal.
02:11It allows us to have good soil.
02:14It gives phenomenal results.
02:17This tree is an avocado tree.
02:20It's less than two years old.
02:22Here we have a small plot of yam.
02:26You can see the earthworms.
02:29It's excellent for the soil.
02:31These are our friends.
02:33They're our helpers.
02:35When we see them, we're happy.
02:37We use chemical products in this soil.
02:40I used it.
02:42The soil doesn't look like this.
02:45The soil becomes very pale.
02:49There are no microorganisms.
02:56With phytosanitary products, we get great results in the beginning.
03:01But then it percolates.
03:03When you look closely, the alternative method is much better in the long run.
03:20This is a country rose.
03:24We use it to make juice, jam and syrup.
03:28It's a shame to consume things that have traveled thousands of miles by plane or boat.
03:35We are an Amerindian people.
03:37We are the first native people.
03:39We have a lot of products in the world,
03:42including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and beans.
03:46I think we have to preserve this pride,
03:49rediscover it, develop it
03:52and start producing our own local products again.
04:09I think that all over the world today,
04:12there are farmers who have realized
04:15that they don't have to exploit the soil,
04:18but they have to work with it.
04:21The soil is alive.
04:23As we say, the soil is our mother.
04:26It's extraordinary what nature can bring.
04:29Extraordinary.
04:31I'm almost moved by saying that,
04:33because we're nothing compared to that.
04:36We only ask the soil to work with it.
04:39The pride and humility of being able to harvest everything we've done
04:43is phenomenal.