Page 71 - OM Newsletter 2022-23

Sustainability instead of dependency in Peru
In 2003 and 2004 Jenny Henman was living in in Iquitos a a a a city in in the the Peruvian Amazon whilst researching the the potential for rural Amazonian smallholders with degraded and and deforested farmlands to access carbon finances through reforestation activities as as part of her Master’s degree at at Brown University (USA) Jenny got to to to to know the the the the the the rural communities who owned the the the the the the deforested land and and and developed a a a a a a a a a a a deep understanding of the the the the challenges they faced in in in in in in returning to to to sustainable regenerative farming She found
that they wanted meaningful long-term support to to to to restore their land with agroforestry which combines trees and and and and crops/livestock in in in in in the the the the the agricultural landscape creating a a a a a a a a a a a a better life for for their families and and and escaping the the the the vicious cycle of poverty they have been trapped in in In the the the regions where she works the the the land was deforested decades ago – much with the the the the the false promise of of an an an income from cattle ranching It has not proven successful given the the the the heavy rains of of the the the the Western Amazon which have washed away the the the soil nutrients meaning most farmers land now supports less than one cow per hectare Determined to to do something Jenny founded Plant Your Future which fosters a a a a a a a a a regenerative agriculture model bringing trees back into the the landscape which helps restore nutrients and and the the the protective canopy for the the soils to to regenerate Since 2009 her charity has planted over 300 000 native rainforest trees and as as part of an an an an ambitious scale-up which is currently underway expects to have planted half a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a million by the the end of this year Her project has achieved certification under under the the the Climate Community and and and and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard Standard and and and and the the the the Verified Carbon Standard Standard (VCS) allowing for for the the the the sale of o carbon offsets to bring the the the the smallholder farmers an an an an additional income for for the the the the climate change mitigation benefits they provide through tree planting Jenny Henman (6 96-98)
Jenny Henman 71