National Geographic writes: “Striding along an overgrown path in the woods, Micaela Fachín stops beside an ishpingo tree (Amburana cearensis), strokes the bark and squints up the tall, straight trunk. ‘I planted this years ago,’ she says. ‘I won’t see it grow to maturity, but it will be here for my children or their children.’
Her grove of banana trees — for family consumption and for sale — is not far away, and there are some papaya trees here and there. But all around are forest species that have particular and, in some cases, peculiar uses. Some sprouted naturally, while others grew from seedlings she planted…Like countless generations of Amazonian people before her, Fachín relies on a combination of food crops and forest products to provide for her family. This diversity—both natural and agricultural—provides a varied diet and an assortment of goods ranging from natural dyes and medicines to palm fronds for roof thatch…”
Read the full article on National Geographic.