Mobile seedling nurseries: native trees for reforestation

Portable, low-cost nurseries that raise native seedlings close to where they're planted — cutting transport loss and putting propagation in the grower's hands.

Note: this is a bricolage protocol; which means we are building it in public! Some pages are under construction — but check back soon its updating fast!

We don't spend a lot of money on nurseries, instead we distribute funds for seedlings among womens networks in the communities we work in.

Too many communities waste money on building production-grade nurseries before they are needed. We advocate for bricolage and iteration instead. Building sequentially better portable nurseries on-site that can be staffed by locals.

Stay tuned for dimensions, instructions, equipment lists and more!

Figure N. Portable nursery construction — first, second, and third generation nurseries

A Savimbo grower and trainee inspect a seedling on a vertical grow-bag tower in a first-generation nursery, Villagarzón, Putumayo — reforestation knowledge passed hand to hand.

Tending native seedlings under shade netting, Villagarzón, Putumayo — the nursery stage that decides whether a reforestation plot survives.

Don Emilio building a seedling nursery bed in a third generation nursery: brick raised bed for native trees

Filling and arranging nursery bags in a brick-edged bed, Villagarzón, Putumayo — staging hundreds of seedlings for reforestation.

Biochar production in a kon-tiki kiln at a second generation portable nursery on Taita Leonidis' farm, Villagarzón, Putumayo — the kind of small-batch char farmers use to build soil.

Grassroots seed cultivation instruction by tree:

• Cacao seeds can be cultivated first from wild variants (for healthy roots) then with higher-grade production variants grafted into a native tree's roots.
• Inga seeds cannot be stored and must be cultivated fresh from the Inga or guamo tree when it is in season.