SUMMARY. Project funding for the reforestation of a one-hectare degraded area in Bandajikaki, Casamance, in southern Senegal. The aim is to establish a further pilot site there for complex agroforestry systems, which will also serve as a research and learning site for syntropic agroforestry and permaculture.
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FoodForestNetwork e.V. has been awarded project funding for the reforestation of a one-hectare degraded area in Bandajikaki in Casamance, southern Senegal.
The aim is to establish a pilot site there for complex agroforestry systems, which will also serve as a research and learning site for syntropic agroforestry and permaculture. The project will strengthen local ecosystem services, increase biodiversity, improve soil fertility and promote carbon sequestration.
We would like to thank the Tools for Life Foundation and the Accordeos Foundation for their support!!
Reforestation as a Food Forest
Background and Objectives
The project site is severely degraded due to slash-and-burn practices and intensive overgrazing, and features depleted soils and low vegetation cover. At the same time, the region faces additional pressures from high demand for firewood for fish smoking, illegal deforestation, and declining rainfall and groundwater levels. The funding aims to create a resilient forest ecosystem that improves water and nutrient storage, stabilises the local microclimate, and serves as a model site for further projects in West Africa in the long term.
The reforestation is being carried out as a food forest. To begin with, the site is fenced off to protect it from further overgrazing. In addition, a living hedge is being created using hedge plants, which serves as a windbreak, a habitat and a source of biomass. The reforestation follows the principles of syntropic agroforestry systems. This involves combining fast-growing pioneer species with long-lived climax species, allowing a structurally rich, multi-layered forest to develop gradually. In the medium term, this results in increased ground cover, humus formation, improved water retention and greater resilience to dry spells.
Education and research are at the heart of the project
In parallel with the physical planting, the project team is developing a modular workshop concept tailored to the local ecosystems and needs in Casamance. The site is used as a ‘green classroom’, for example for local school classes, students, farmers and, in particular, women’s groups. There, they learn in a practical way how to manage their own land in a way that is both productive in the long term and regenerative. Through guided tours, training sessions and regular workshops, the aim is to disseminate specialist knowledge on complex agroforestry systems and to encourage the independent implementation of similar schemes. In total, the project aims to reach several thousand people both during the project and beyond.
Partners and Funding
The project is coordinated by FoodForestNetwork e.V. and is being implemented in close cooperation with the PermaFoodForest pilot project in Senegal. The latter has many years of experience in permaculture and regenerative agriculture in the region. The Senegalese association Yirwa Permaculture du sud contributes local expertise, language skills and manpower, and is helping to embed the project within the local communities.
Die Pflanzung ist als langfristig wirksame Pilotfläche konzipiert. Durch Monitoring, Dokumentation und die Einbindung von Studierenden in Forschungsarbeiten sollen Erkenntnisse zu geeigneten Pflanzengemeinschaften und Systemdesigns gewonnen und zugänglich gemacht werden. Das Ziel besteht darin, dass diese Fläche als Blaupause für weitere syntropische Agroforstsysteme in der Region dient und somit zur Verbreitung naturbasierter Lösungen für Klimaschutz, Biodiversität und Ernährungssicherheit beiträgt.
Geatful!!
Many thanks to the Tools for Life Foundation and the Accordeos Foundation for their support!!
