Home  I  Who We Are  I  What We Do  I  Where We Work  I  News   I  Projects   I  Contact Us   I  Donate Now   

When we can’t see the wood for the trees

The Forests and Fires project began last year in the dust and heat of the dry season with the Nuevas Esperanzas team tracking forest fires and assessing their risk to the dry tropical forests on the slopes of Volcán Telica.  It is quite a different story now.  The rains have come, the ground is green and it is time to plant.

Over the last few weeks around 10,000 saplings have been delivered to the community of El Ojochal del Listón.  Some of these have been donated by organisations such as the Millennium Challenge Fund and INAFOR, the government forestry department, whilst others have been purchased from local tree nurseries.  El Ojochal is part of an environmentally protected area so the trees to be planted must be native to the region.  The farmers who own and work the land near El Ojochal are happy to participate in the reforestation of the area but also have to think about their livelihoods and so some of the trees to be planted are fruit trees.  Over times these fruit trees will provide a source of income as well as helping to restore the forest which has been lost through years of environmentally damaging practices such as slash and burn farming, illegal logging and unsustainable use of firewood.  Mangos, avocadoes, lemons, guavas and cashews are all to be planted.

As with so much of our work in remote hillside communities, transport was the first major challenge.  It was no easy task to transport 10,000 plants 6 km up a steep rough road to reach the areas where they are to be planted; it took over 20 journeys using both the Nuevas Esperanzas truck and a tractor and trailer hired for the purpose.  Around 500 plants were carefully packed into the trailer for each journey to prevent them being damaged in transit, and with each journey by tractor taking over three hours this represented more than a week’s work.

Once at the top, the task of distributing the trees between the farmers began.  At this time of year, we can count on the rain to water the plants during transport and distribution, but in July the veranillo (literally meaning ‘little summer’) will arrive and the young trees will need time to take root before this dry weather comes around.  The veranillo is not the only challenge – some traditional farmers believe that planting during a full moon will damage the plants so the last week of June saw several members of the Nuevas Esperanzas team staying overnight in El Ojochal to help get the planting done.

Different species also require different attention.  The trees are being planted on the slopes of the volcano using an A-frame to determine the contour lines of the hillside.  By planting along the contours, the trees will help prevent soil erosion.  The distance between the trees also varies according to the species and getting these details right will give the trees the best chance of success.  Some of the fruit trees are grafted to improve reliance and productivity.  For example, a variety of mango selected for its productivity has been grafted onto a rootstock of another variety of mango, selected for its resilience to pests.  The mango trees were grafted at the tree nurseries before planting but others, such as citrus fruits, will be grafted after planting giving the farmers in El Ojochal the opportunity to learn how to do this for themselves.

Ten thousand may sound like a lot of trees but this is just the start of what needs to be done for the conservation of this area.  We hope that as these trees take root, a new willingness to protect and value this precious environment will also grow and flourish.

30/06/10