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Designing a Food Cloudforest: Porotón & Other Unknown Crops

Highly bio-diverse ecosystems such as cloud forests may possess many valuable food crops which, if propagated in conjunction with other edible plants native to the environment, could provide a highly productive and ecologically ideal model for future food production. Acquiring land half-degraded by cattle farming, partially pristine primary forest, we continue to document the existing plants and found that porotón, which is in global risk of extinction but known for its great nutritional value by Pre-Incan society, grows abundantly in this unique microclimate. Using this as the base plant for reforestation in the degraded areas, other plants existing in the pristine areas such as wild naranjilla, berries, figs and higuerrilla are being propagated while efforts are being done to slow down invading forces that threaten to convert this natural paradise into cattle production. After one year, over 100 porotón trees planted have grown well (a very happy outcome) and based on this first trial, many seedlings are being planted in a nursery for planting on the land afterwards. Other wild plants are not experiencing any problems reproducing as well. The weakness is that we have to find a way to replicate the natural structure as closely as possible, and more scientific study is required to understand what additional plants could be propagated and what their true nutritional and ecological value may be. The other challenge is simultaneously protecting the natural wildlife species that thrive in this environment from neighboring cattle farmers who see the white-spectacled bear, native to this environment, as a threat.