Meetings for implementing a new Agroforestry project

Between May 8 and 11, 2025, in the Light-Community Fraternity of Aurora, an open meeting was held to implement the second stage of the agroforestry project started in October 2024. It was attended by farmers, teachers, neighbors and collaborators from Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, who joined the Light-Community to deepen, through lectures and practices, this technique of cultivation.

Diego Sabbado, a Brazilian agroforestry consultant with more than 10 years of experience in this technique, gave a talk on this subject and on a major project to be carried out in the R2 area, together with Brother Patricio de San Pío, responsible for the Community's Plantations and Seeds Sector.

During the four days of the meeting, the participants were instructed on the subject, and then put into practice by preparing the land and planting more than 500 trees and around 3,000 vegetables of different species in three rows that together totaled 420m of land. “We had illustrative talks and work that was carried out in the field, in an atmosphere of harmony, cooperation, dynamism and joy,” said Oscar Di Marco, who traveled from Mar del Plata, Argentina, to participate in the meeting.

Starting a new plan

Since 2019 there is the idea of implementing this cultivation technique in the soil of the Light-Community, where the basis is the introduction of trees in agriculture. “We chose this system among so many, mainly because it is a healthier and more complete agriculture, which maintains the biodiversity, creating a microclimate and gives more security at the time of production of food, which allows us to consider it as part of the Emergency Plan”, commented brother Patricio.

Throughout the years, several attempts were made for this plan to bear fruit through different strategies, and since 2023 the Sector of Plantations and Seeds of the Light-Community, with the collaboration of Diego Sabbado, has been designing a new work plan based on an exhaustive study of several variables characteristic of the region called “Pampa” Biome, in consonance with the periodicity of work in the area, the number of people who can collaborate, the analysis of the species that could be included based on previous experiences and the consumption of the Community. Once the work plan was finalized, the plan for the implementation of the cultivation continued, detailing the direction of the lines, the spaces and the species for each bed, according to its development.

“The way the technique is developed is different in each region, so you have to pay attention to the native trees and other types of trees to see how they develop. Generally, the use of herbicides and fungicides occurs because we don't know the environmental needs of the plants, which may not be feeling well where they are," says Diego.

Let's get to work

Due to monocultures and land rotation that does not allow natural organisms to survive, the area had compacted soil with a minimum amount of nutrients. Therefore, as a first step, it was necessary to regenerate the soil under the strategy of covering it with organic matter, without removal, so that microorganisms and fungi could reproduce naturally, contributing to the porosity of the soil. As a characteristic of this system, the roots of the trees also help in this process, allowing the water to filter and remain available in the deeper layers, a fact that was observed in the short term since the areas that were previously flooded achieved better filtration. Diego clarifies: “One of the principles of Agroforestry is that it is regenerative agriculture because it manages to produce food and, at the same time, improves soil quality, leaving it in better condition than it was”.

Other no less important characteristics when it comes to organizing a successful crop: the planting of “windbreak” species, such as “Elephant Grass”, which protect the crops from strong winds that remove moisture from the soil; and a greater study at the time of production and consumption of species, so that we harvest what the Community really needs. This allows the used energy to be in balance between maintenance and production.

Based on this study, several species of fruit trees were planted, such as citrus, pear, apple, mulberry and loquat trees, as well as eucalyptus and paraísos, among others. In the last line, priority was given to native species that fulfill a double function: the production of food and a second line of “windbreaks”. Brother Patricio explains: “As our objective is production for consumption in the Community, we saw that it is more practical to have a greater variety of species, as opposed to common agriculture in which this would not be productive”.

Until the trees mature, about three to five years from now, the focus of the system will be on vegetable production, medicinal plants and soil maintenance through weeding and compost renewal.

Fruits of the meeting

Of the eight planned planting beds, five were planted during these two meetings, following the planned design. All the participants, including neighbors and two professors from the University of Salto, Uruguay, received a great boost in the knowledge of how to produce organic food without damaging the soil and biodiversity. "We were able to learn about the importance of the study, planning and responsibility of planting an agroforestry. Many of those who attended do not live in the Community, so we were able to share the process of what is experienced here, encouraging those who want to implement their own projects", commented Glaucia Pereira, a member of the Light-Community.

Recalling that one of the goals of the project is to generate a greater interaction of the Light-Community and collaborators with the plantations as an opportunity of physical and spiritual integration with the Kingdoms of Nature, Diego Sabbado complements: “Beyond the fact that the objective is production, the idea is that one enjoys the activity and it does not become just one more task”.

This project, which allows the development of agrodiversity, the mutual cooperation between the Kingdoms of Nature and man, the production of organic food among others and, in the future, the possible self-sustainability of the Community, will have a new great impulse to finalize the planting stage through a third meeting in October 2025.