Forest – the natural landscape

The forest is the natural landscape of the Amazon region and essential for human survival: on one hand, it produces food and timber, on the other, it absorbs CO2 and stabilizes the climate in a warming world in the Anthropocene. The trees communicate with each other, protect, and nourish one another. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples have practiced agriculture combining various plants.

The Amazon Basin is the largest continuous forest area in the world – the lungs of the Earth – where plants, animals, and humans can live in better coexistence. Here, agriculture based on biodiversity is possible. However, this knowledge and techniques have been long neglected. We are reviving them!

Agroforestry is an ancient method where various plants in the same cultivation area produce fruits for both humans and animals, while contributing to the preservation of many soil functions by mimicking the forest ecosystem. This is the basic idea behind the so-called “forest gardens,” which we are researching. Through this, we help local producers improve the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of their land.

Global crises such as food (ETH Zurich: Smart Eating, 2019) and resource scarcity, biodiversity loss, and climate change are intensifying, forcing us to rethink our relationship with the environment entirely. This is why Tera Kuno seeks alternative, utopian stories that offer positive ecological future perspectives – stories in which we play a new, active role as living and caring beings.