Preserving Matsés Agricultural Heritage The Matsés people of the Amazon are master farmers. Worldwide, inestimable indigenous agricultural knowledge has been lost in the process of acculturation. Forgotten often before it is realized what has been lost, the insidious erosion of traditional farming is a well paved path leading to weakened resiliency, increased dependence on outside […] Continue reading »
Taking on slash-and-burn agriculture It’s not easy reaching Matsés territory, but finally, after a week of saying goodbye to my family in Iquitos only to return a couple hours later with yet another cancelled flight, the Peruvian Air Force float plane took off and soared off into the horizon. I was headed for the small […] Continue reading »
Nothing is more challenging than advising experts. The Matsés indigenous people are master farmers, and it seems strange to even suggest farming ideas to people who live almost entirely off the land. The problem is that their traditional small-scale swidden (slash-and-burn) approaches to farming, once superbly adapted sustainable agriculture for a semi-nomadic lifestyle, do not […] Continue reading »