We have updated a list of productive and useful plants species that can be found on the farm.

In green, the species that could be found on the land before PURAVIDA arrived , in blue the ones that have been added since, and in red those that we wish to introduce in the near future . Of course, in case you plan to come to visit, you are very welcome to add to the diversity and bring more seeds or seedlings with you.

The list doesn’t include the many native plants of the Mata Atlantica , and we wish that a good survey of our 90 Ha of rainforest  will be subject to an educational project soon.

The list shows names in different languages as well as few links to external images or databases for further info.

fazenda PURAVIDA herba-list

(it’s stored online at Google Docs but can be seen by anyone. To open this document in a new window, just click the link above.)

published by brunozinho

the farm has now a Facebook page !

look for “Fazenda Puravida”

friends of Puravida, please tag photos of your time at the farm and leave a comment about your experience to share with others!

Also check out the PURAVIDA Network page on WiserEarth

Welcome to the puravida collective weblog. Designed rather to be an open communication platform than a proper website, this forum is meant to facilitate projects coordination and the sharing of ideas amongst all puravida members and friends throughout our beloved planet. So feel free to add your posts and comments or invite more contributors to join in.

In case of technical problems, send a mail to puravidaonline@gmail.com

At the beginning of 2009, a new agroforestry system has been started in a degraded pasture land following the principles of permaculture. The active participation of volunteers allowed to finalize the digging of swales on contour and the planting of more than 2000 banana sapplings plus pionneer and leguminous species . A nursery has been also created for the fruit trees that will complete the system.

general view of the site

placing logs cross-slopes

lower swale

swale detail

first banana shoots

about 80% of the brazilian cocoa originates from the state of Bahia and most of it (including at fazenda puravida) is cultivated in an agroforestry system called “cabruca” where the cocoa trees grow under the canopy of a mix of native primary or secondary forest trees plus productive fruit trees such as caja (spondias monbin), jaca (artocarpus heterophyllus), jenipapo (genipa americana)…

Venture Capitalism for a Tropical Forest – COCOA IN THE MATA ATLÂNTICA, a  survey published in 2003 by the Worlwatch Institute emphasizes the strong conservation potential of cocoa :

“by turning a cocoa-growing tradition into an “eco-business,”farmers and investors could help save the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, one of the most biologically diverse and endangered forest biomes in the world. Such an effort could also increase rural employment and help build an economy that can sustain the forest instead of destroying it.“

published by brunozinho

In case you still think that reviving wind-powered cargoships and sailing cocoa beans across the atlantic, in order to provide the european market with low carbon footprint & organic chocolate, is some kind of retrograde utopia, then, you might want to check out the CMTV website

making a public commitment to a sustainable economic development project, CTMV has created a fleet of sail-driven merchant ships to transport wine and products from France to Ireland.

Propelled by the same wind of changes, SKYSAILS are fitting huge kites onto conventional cargoships…

The last Puravida season has seen a lot of changes at the farm,  a lot of visitors,  friends and family who have come to stay and helped make our time there very special.  We had several friends staying long term with us who really helped to make a difference and dedicated a lot of their time and effort.  A very special thank you goes out to Alex,  Jamieson,  Flore and Papa Noel who all contributed in their own way for many months.

Check out the 6 months update : PURAVIDA Newsletter June 2008

posted by elinzinha

This season of Puravidaness has now come to a close. The last six months have been eventful and wonderful, full of challenges. The farm now has a basic infrastructure with a water system providing water on top of the hill thanks to the worlds first floating RAM pump and extended permaculture gardens providing pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, rocket, sweet potatoes, mandioca and herbs. A wide variety of fruit trees have been planted all around the hill such as papaya, goiaba, mango and banana.

The farm now also counts with two functioning rocket stoves. We have also made a rocket stove together with Vera and Ivan in their house so that they are now able to spread the knowledge of how to build a simple but energy efficient stove with materials all available on the land.
All houses have had decorations from visiting artists- we have two decorative black boards, a rainbow snake covering the whole of one room and a mural on the communal house featuring cacao, flowers, waterfalls and capoeira that has been a collaborative effort between various visitors.

This season has been culturally rich with theatre workshops, performances, arts projects and roda’s de capoeira, all involving the local families and the surrounding community.
We have had several long term visitors who have become part of the Puravida family and have all contributed significantly in their own ways. A big massive THANK YOU to ALL of you who came and helped and made our time there very special. Some of you were there for a week, others for four or five months, everyones presence was equally important and appreciated.

published by elinzinha