An agroforestry workshop guided by Krahô wisdom, combining traditional knowledge and sustainable practices to prepare for future planting, strengthening resilience, food sovereignty and environmental management.
Authors: Ana Rosa, Paulo Henrique Nenevê and Rômulo Araujo
Leia em português
At the invitation of Cruwakwyj (Crû) Krahô, Fellow Pollinator, Paulo Henrique Nenevê, Rômulo Araújo and Ana Rosa visited the Galheiro Novo village in the Krahô Indigenous Land, located in the state of Tocantins, Brazil, from August 18 to 22. This workshop was a fundamental step towards strengthening the autonomy, resilience and food sovereignty of the Krahô people, preparing the ground for a prosperous planting season during the rainy season. These activities were made possible thanks to the support of Postcode Loterie, as well as funding from the Meli Pollinator Program, with contributions from partners such as the Tamalpais Trust.
A workshop based on collaboration and preparation
The workshop emphasized practical and theoretical approaches, deeply informed by the knowledge and traditions of the Krahô people. The activities focused on expanding the community’s access to genetic material by collecting seeds, cuttings and branches for diversity, reproduction and ensuring adequate storage for future use. The team also worked on the storage and propagation of cuttings to maintain the long-term availability of resources.
The first day of the workshop focused on understanding the local area and reality, such as soil conditions, available resources, community involvement and current planting practices.
The visit to the Krahô planting areas was essential to start collecting seeds, cuttings and branches, as well as allowing the agroforestry experts to learn about Krahô planting techniques and promote discussions integrating them with agroforestry theory.
This approach allowed the experts to assess the local potential and lay the foundations for a solid long-term partnership with the Krahô.
Paulo and Rômulo shared practices for storing cuttings and branches and used those collected previously, along with those they had brought themselves. On the afternoon of the first day, an area was established where the cuttings and branches can be stored alive. The site has basic access to water and is close to Hyjno and Cruwakwyj’s house, making it convenient for the necessary maintenance that will be carried out by them, who have taken on the responsibility of keeping this seed house alive.
They also shared practices for recognizing and storing seeds that have greater viability. In this way, the Krahô themselves were given the tools to develop and maintain their seed houses. An example of this was the cleaning of tomato seeds which, with this simple practice, can now be stored for longer than usual.
On the second day, the planting area was selected and pruning and preparation began, such as pruning to increase the health of the already established forest trees. As part of identifying, preserving and accumulating existing local resources, participants were instructed to maximize the use of resources such as animal manure, bonfire ashes and pruning materials. All this organic material was distributed to prepare the soil for planting during the rainy season and disposed of in such a way that its decomposition would be beneficial to both agricultural and forestry crops.
On the same day, they also shared the JADAM technique for preparing a solution rich in microorganisms using healthy soil as the main ingredient. This solution improves soil health and, as the Krahô have access to healthy and abundant forest soil, they were able to recognize the immense value of this readily available resource.
On the third day, we continued preparing the planting area, using the material prepared by the JADAM methodology. The facilitators shared more methods for increasing soil fertility using local and sustainable techniques. On this day we also had a visit from the local school and the workshop participants themselves acted as knowledge multipliers and shared agroforestry concepts with the young people, introducing them to the JADAM method.
Holistic approach
Being open to knowing, respecting and marveling at indigenous culture is key to the success of Meli’s activities – during a face-to-face workshop this is even stronger. Learning was present during every exchange we had with the Krahô, both during the workshop and during walks through the territory and around the campfires at the end of each day.
We had the opportunity to learn more about the history of Galheiro Novo village and the surrounding villages by listening to the community elders, who shared their wisdom during walks through the villages.
The involvement of children and young people was another key element of the workshop. Children from the community were present during the workshop, playing with the local biodiversity and listening to the exchanges taking place alongside them. Through the local school, the young people were also present and built bridges to increase contact with Meli as a whole. This integration promoted a sense of belonging and continuity between generations.
The Galheiro Novo village also demonstrated a beautiful tradition: gathering around the bonfire at the end of each day. The moon made the atmosphere even more dazzling and combined with the stories and songs that were shared, it was impossible not to be moved.
All these exchanges were crowned in the late afternoon of the third day, when we had a meeting to hear the participants’ evaluation of the workshop, followed by a small closing party. The Galheiro Novo village showed us a bit of Krahô culture: we were presented with a typical dish and honored with their body painting.
The conclusions of this workshop include (1) Crû shared her happiness at the women’s participation, which she said was much higher than in most of the previous activities; (2) participants reported threats due to invasions by non-indigenous people in the territory; (3) there are challenges posed by structural shortcomings in the territory, such as energy, water and basic sanitation; (4) there are ideas for future low-cost projects to trap pigs, make dry toilets to avoid parasite cycles due to the lack of basic sanitation.
Resilience through agroecology
This workshop was more than a moment of learning; it was the start of a solid partnership between traditional Krahô knowledge and agroecological techniques. The work started here will continue to strengthen the resilience and food sovereignty of the Krahô people, highlighting the essential role of indigenous communities in environmental preservation and sustainable development.
The next morning after the workshop we waved goodbye, already missing the special moments we had experienced in Krahô territory.
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