AG-01 · 01 Agriculture
Syntropic agroforestry
A stratified food forest that feeds the soil as it feeds people, using dense planting, timed pruning, and succession instead of tillage and fertilizer.
Origin
Atlantic Forest, Brazil — Ernst Götsch and collaborating farmers
Materials
- Local pioneer, biomass and fruit species
- Pruning tools and a chipper or machete
- Mulch and uncomposted woody material
- A simple planting calendar by strata
Method
- 01
Map sun, wind, frost and existing trees. Plant along contour so water and organic matter stay on the slope.
- 02
Lay a dense mix: fast pioneers for shade and biomass, support species for nitrogen and structure, and the long-lived fruit or timber you actually want.
- 03
Prune aggressively in the first years. Chopped biomass is laid on the soil — the system is fed from above, not from a bag.
- 04
Keep three canopies in play at all times. When a pioneer is removed, a mid-story is already waiting; when fruit trees mature, the understory shifts to shade-tolerant crops.
- 05
Record what thrives. The stand becomes a local cultivar library, not a copy of someone else's list.
What this makes possible
- Soil covered year-round; less irrigation after establishment
- Stacked harvests from leaf, fruit, fuel and timber
- A planting pattern that can be taught in a weekend and refined for a decade
This is a field record, not a permit. Adapt to local law, climate and skill. If you have run this method, send what you learned.