Project information

Name of food forest

Minamba research farm

Description

The Minamba Research Farm is located in a stretch of miombo forest in which we are trying to explore how to make enough of a forest by leaving it standing. International trade and local population growth are putting a lot of pressure on miombo forests, so the possibility of them being displaced for large-scale agriculture (and urbanization) is real. The land has previously been used for slash-and-burn agriculture, but there are still quite a few trees, many of which produce fruit. There are also many edible mushrooms, caterpillars and bees, and many plants have medicinal value, or are used for applications such as construction and energy. Enriching the soil with mulches of fallen leaves and nitrogen-fixing crops should accelerate the buildup of fertile soil. We are looking at what that does to land yields. In addition, new crops will be planted along ditches that collect rainwater.

Square metres:

500000

Type of soil

Loess, silts or loamy sands