March 2024 marked the beginning of our journey to fund the Cerrado project. It was then that we solidified our partnerships and began working with RAIN, setting the foundations for something truly impactful. Over the last several months, from March to December 2024, we worked tirelessly and successfully to get the project ready to go in January 2025.

The planting season kicks off this January, and we can’t wait to see the first seedlings take root. 

This project will happen slowly, unlike the Mangroves, as it's a brand-new project in the area that has never been done before.

January - The project is ready to start. The first phase of work here focuses on food security and ecosystem restoration. These are the immediate priorities for the Quilombola people, and they lay the groundwork for future projects with a stronger emphasis on carbon sequestration.

February - The planting season begins.  The locals collected a diverse mix of tree and plant seeds to plant on their plot: black pepper, Brazil nut, avocado, cupuaçu, clove, loquat and pequi. The first 700 seeds and seedlings go into the ground, and away we go.

March - After an encouraging start to the planting season, the rains stopped suddenly. Irrigation was needed to save many of the young plants, and thanks to support from people travelling in from nearby, avocado, cupuaçu and loquat are doing particularly well.

Damião and the Quilombola People are doing their best to maintain the plot with the little water available. Greenpaw’s continued support is critical, as restoring the Cerrado is not a quick process. Decades of conventional farming have stripped away resilience across the region, including around Kalunga territory, and healing this ecosystem will take patience, persistence, and long-term commitment.

This is just the beginning. As trust grows and the land begins to recover, larger projects will follow, bringing greater biodiversity, food security, and carbon benefits. We have to be patient on a project that has never happend before.

April 2025 - The rains begin again which eases the pressure. To support nature in chaotic times and take best advantage of the resources available, the family is constructing a drip irrigation system. This is getting the attention of other farmers in the area. There are many hectares of degraded farmland to restore in Kalunga - this is just the beginning.

May 2025 - The first 700 trees seem to be doing well, as there is more abundant water to work with now, even though the rain is usually tailing off in May. From now until October, Damião and his family will continue to tend their plot in its early stages, but there will be no more new saplings going in the ground until September or October. It is difficult to predict, and the understanding to work in this environment is precious.

Although their knowledge of ecosystems is priceless, people from Quilombos can be wary of working with outsiders. This project was not without its political complexities at the beginning, so we resolved to work with an individual family rather than wait for the whole collective to ratify a grander scheme.

Our tactic seems to be working, as other farmers are asking what they can do. With the money from Greenpaw, we are building momentum. 

June 2025 - On June 2nd, we signed a second contract to work in the Kalunga territory, at this time not an agroforestry plot but reforestation to recreate the native ecosystem. We will be employing six people at a different site, aiming to plant the remaining 7300 trees with a communal mobilisation. This will be funded with the money from Greenpaw. 

The initial 700 trees are being monitored to ensure their success.