Climate Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Inga alley-cropping reduces global carbon emissions, protects wildlife and marine habitats, increases biodiversity and biological corridors, provides sustainable food security, and preserves water sources--fulfilling 12 of the 17 UN SDGs with no negative impacts whatsoever.
Steep, degraded land, called "sterile" by rural smallholders, is re-greened and productive in 18-24 months. The Inga Tree Model has achieved proof in the landscape working for 14 years at the landscape level with the all-Honduran team training 650+ families and 60+ farmer groups. Smallholder families make all the decisions, supplying the land, labor and care–trained and assisted by our 
all-Honduran team of foresters, agronomists, field and nursery staff. After their first pruning (where we train and assist), there is no future dependence. 
The highly resilient pilot is replicable to all the humid tropics that receive the most severe climate shocks of heat, drought and deluges.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses)', 'Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

With a "do no harm" approach, working with the entire family, the Model encourages the empowerment of girls/women by establishing a secure family life with safe working plots, near to home and raising income to support access to education for all children. Land tenure and inheritance rights are equal to women in Honduras. All training, planting/first pruning is given without regard to household status. Young people can remain in their rural areas without having to migrate to cities or out of country.We provide assistance for families who don’t have able-bodied members placing boots on the ground to ensure that  alley plots are planted and growing well; and will be pruned when appropriate. After that, plot owners will contract neighbors at annual pruning time, paying them by sharing the firewood. In this way, the system is economically/socially flexible; adaptable to the needs of either gender. The Model promotes food sovereignty, local leadership, and the sharing of knowledge among indigenous farmers. 
Inga Alley-Cropping ensures food security in basic-grains with a permanent plot which can be located near their dwelling. Smallholders provide the land, labor & care.  We provide the seeds (Inga & cash crop)-with no crippling debt for the rural families.