Project document

Florestan Fernandes Settlement

17. The settlement is located in the municipality of San Francisco de Canindé in an area formerly known as Orocó Ranch. The Legal Reserve of 176 ha. is preserved by the settlers, but exploited by outsiders who do not respect environmental regulations.. The settlers want to manage the Caatinga themselves. The property has intermittent streams, 13 small reservoirs and a canal built by the Sanitation Company of Sergipe (DESO).

18. Virtually all of the 31 lots can be cultivated, except for some areas that are susceptible to erosion when cultivated with annual crops and poorly managed. The strongest pressure in this area is from cattle ranching, which has involved planting of pastures, that continue to be used by settlers. The main crops grown are beans and corn for food as well as cactus (for fodder) and grass. Beans and corn are sold to middlemen after harvesting and part of the production is for family meals. On average, when the rains are favorable, each settler harvests 50 sacks of beans and 80 sacks of corn. As for cactus and grass for feeding livestock, in a recent survey there were 640 head of cattle, 200 goats and 600 sheep in the settlement, as well as many chickens, turkeys and guinea hens, which are consumed by settler families. Overgrazing in the settlement requires adjustments in the carrying capacity and/or changes in forage production. In the settlement there is some incipient organic food production (vegetables) and peridomiciliary agroforestry (quintais produtivos) of 10 women of the settlement. Production is for their own consumption and for roadside sale to faculty and staff of schools near the settlement. Water is supplied by tank trucks in the dry season and when it rains by storage tanks constructed by the ASA (for human consumption) and by waterholes for livestock.

19. So far there is no area subject to environmental or other degradation in the settlement and all lots can be cultivated, fitting in category 3. The suggested activities are:

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  Integrated Multiple Use SFM for grazing purposes with intervention in native vegetation, with 160 ha. for pasture management.
  
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  Meliponiculture (up to 93 hives) in the areas of Legal Reserve and remaining vegetation near the houses and water reservoirs.
  
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  Peridomiciliary agroforestry with all interested families in the settlement.
  
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  Ecoefficient stoves in residences that show interest; th awareness workshops about management of firewood collection in the neighborhood.
  
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  Strengthening of agro-ecological actions practiced in the settlement to strengthen capabilities for production and marketing.
  
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  Conservation practices linked to agriculture and the prevention and reversal of erosion.
  
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  Dry stone dams, which retain soils eroded by water, forming usable areas and water reservoirs, besides favoring infiltration and groundwater replenishment. Several such dams will be built to demonstrate ways to plan watersheds.