Karugwá Village Joins the Agroforestry for the Atlantic Forest Project

Many people don't know, but there are still Indigenous peoples spread across the state of São Paulo. The southwest of the state was a refuge where several Indigenous peoples remained until the beginning of the 20th century, when there was a more aggressive territorial and agricultural expansion and these peoples were expelled and exterminated.

 PRETATERRA chose the Karugwá community, in the municipality of Barão de Antonina, SP, to implement part of the 100 hectares of agroforestry in its “Agroforestry for the Atlantic Forest” project supported by the Swiss bank foundation ‘UBS Optimus Foundation’. In this first phase, up to 5 hectares will be planted in the indigenous village and the intention is to expand to the entire territory throughout the next steps of the project.

About 30 Guarani families, or 150 people, live in the Karugwá community on approximately 140 hectares of land. When they arrived there, with their meager belongings, it was an arid, deforested land, with degraded pastures and low productivity.

The descendants of the oldest members of the Karugwá community were Indigenous people who joined the separatist troops during the 1932 Revolution. The original group separated from their mother village located in Avaí, SP in 2005, when they went to the area protected and demarcated by FUNAI (Fundação Nacional do Índio) in Barão de Antonina, SP, on the border with Paraná. Originally there were 12 pioneer families. When they arrived, the community faced a lot of discrimination from neighbors and the municipality. After a long work of alignment and building friendships, today they have strong support from the local city hall.

The Karugwá tribe is home to the descendants of these Indigenous people who fought for their lands and culture and managed to remain in the territory for more than 4 centuries of colonization. Only one of the most experienced members of the community, Mr. Valdeci, knows how to speak the original language of his people. Now, Valdeci teaches his companions and the next generations, to keep his culture alive.

Today, members of the Karugwá community make a living from agricultural production, which is still in its infancy, from handicrafts and tourism. Some members of the community are teachers and municipal health assistants, others also work outside the village, in local factories. Older members receive a pension.

In the community, the idea of ​​agroforestry is already widespread. Many work in agroforestry backyards for subsistence, and rely on the help of a Funai agronomist for technical assistance. Their practically self-sufficient way of life is based on subsistence agriculture, with the production of cassava, corn, beans, bananas and various fruits, in addition to raising chickens, pigs, dairy and beef cattle and fish. To sell, the Indigenous people grow passion fruit, mango, papaya, avocado and strawberries, products that they sell to the pulp agribusiness in the region.

In conversations with the elders, when we understand the species they use and the agricultural practices they adopt, it becomes clear that bringing agroforestry is actually a way to support the community’s ancestral culture.

Much of the territory, especially in the steepest areas or on the edge of water bodies, was protected and enriched with native species and, therefore, in some points the forest was once again intertwined with the landscape. Today, more than 30% of the area is back to forest and they want more: to carry out productive restoration using native fruit species to recover these riparian forests.

Young people are very active in the community and develop activities to revive their culture. Sandro teamed up with the Funai agronomist who supports them to restore the springs on his land. Nathan learned from his father the crafts of his people using materials from the forest, such as fibers from palm trees or vines, lizard and alligator leather, bird feathers, seeds and dried fruit shells to create everything from bracelets, necklaces and headdresses for cultural events and mobilizations of indigenous groups, to clubs, slings and bows and arrows for hunting and protection. He learned indigenous art from his father Valdeir, whose name in his original language, Guarani, is Tupã kutsuwidju, which means “Guardian of time”.

It's really exciting for us to be invited to train archery by a warrior like Nathan and win a bracelet worthy of a warrior. It is a unique opportunity that presents itself during moments of integration with the community and we are very honored by it.

PRETATERRA works with the Karugwá community to combine its agricultural knowledge with agroforestry planning. In this project, agroforestry can support the community’s food production, cultural practices and stewardship of the land.