The Inga Foundation / Land For Life: The Inga Tree Model for Food Security, Saving Rainforests, & Carbon Reduction

The Project

Inga alley-cropping is a scientifically proven solution for stopping the practice of slash-and-burn of tropical rainforests and switching to sustainable agriculture. Their project in Honduras, named Land for Life, has been in place for 9 years and has exceeded all the goals: it has transformed the lives of more than 300 families, regenerated 2,600 acres of degraded land, planted over 3 million trees, and sequestered/avoided 240,000 tons of CO2. 

Inga alley-cropping anchors a family to a single plot of land, eliminating their dependence on slash-and-burn. The entire family works together with the Honduran project team, receiving training and the initial 5000 Inga seeds for planting a hectare in hedgerows 2 and 13 feet apart. Crops are planted in the alleys between the trees and, after 1-2 years, the alleys are pruned with the assistance of the team. The trees have grown to 20 feet and are pruned back to 5 feet with the branches supplying a year’s worth of firewood and the leaves, a soil-protecting mulch. Crops are again planted between the rows and shaded as the trees regrow. After the crops have matured, they are harvested and the cycle repeats.