Nine essential Brazilian native seeds in a muvuca
Discover the story of the reforestation heroes of the Brazilian Cerrado and Amazon Forest
Instituto Socioambiental - ISA
Xingu Seed Network Association (Associação Rede de Sementes do Xingu ASRX)
Muvuca by Ludmilla Balduino / ASRXInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
What is 'muvuca'?
Muvuca is a mix of several native seeds, planted directly on the soil of what will become the future forest. In the Xingu Seed Network, muvucas are used to restore the Cerrado and the Amazon. In Portuguese, the word muvuca also means a crowd of people.
Baru (2017) by Tui Anandi / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
To plant a muvuca of seeds, you need a muvuca of people
1. Baru — From seed to seed, our gatherers make a forest. Family farmer Mário Gomes shows the fruits and seeds of the baru, an edible nut from the Brazilian Cerrado. The baru was collected in the Jaraguá settlement, where he lives, in the Center-West region of Brazil.
Caju (2014) by Tui Anandi / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Standing forests yield abundant food
2. Cashew — Seed collector Vera Alves da Silva, from the city of Nova Xavantina (MT), waits for the cashews to ripen on the tree. The seed is among the most requested to compose the muvucas of the Xingu Seed Network. Not by chance: in the Cerrado, the cashew is food for all beings.
Carvoeiro (2009) by Ayrton VignolaInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Diverse seeds germinate sociobiodiversity
3. Carvoeiro — Indigenous collector Yakawa Ikpeng holds a straw basket with carvoeiro seeds, collected from trees near her home in the center of the Xingu Indigenous Territory. The carvoeiro seed has a high germination rate and its tree guarantees shade in the forest.
Seed collection generates extra income for communities
Collecting seeds for muvuca brings extra income, autonomy and technical knowledge to more than 560 indigenous collectors, family farmers and city dwellers in Mato Grosso, Brazil, who are part of the non-profit association Xingu Seed Network Association.
Jatobá (2017) by Tui Anandi / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Communities united in seed work
4. Jatobá — The farming sisters Cledinei Carvalho and Cledinelia de Souza, residents of the Jaraguá settlement in Água Boa (MT), process seeds from the jatobá, an imposing tree that is important for promoting the recovery and maintenance of the health of the forest soil.
Mamoninha (2016) by Guaíra Maia / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Little by little, with great results
5. Mamoninha — A member of the Xingu Seeds Network since its inception, 15 years ago, the young indigenous Oreme Ikpeng, a link of the Yarang women's collector group, shows yaru seeds. Yarang, in the Ikpeng language, means "ant". And yaru, “mamoninha”, is a tree native to the region.
Pequi (2017) by Tui Anandi / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Food sovereignty is something you sow and reap
6. Pequi — Ana Cláudia Barbosa, collector and communicator from the Dom Pedro settlement, in São Félix do Araguaia (MT), peels the pequi, which has an edible yellow pulp that is delicious and rich in nutrients and is typical of the Cerrado. The pulp (and several thorns) protect the species' embryo.
How are muvuca seeds chosen?
Muvuca seeds are chosen according to the social desires and environmental contexts of the area where the new forest will be planted. On average, 80 kilos of muvuca contain enough diversity to seed an abundant forest, with 3,000 plants in just one hectare.
Tamboril (2009) by Ayrton VignolaInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
In this muvuca, people and seeds are the protagonists
7. Tamboril — Former collector Darci de Oliveira, a resident of the city of Canarana (MT), separates tamboril seeds with a sieve at his home in 2009. Founded in 2007, the Xingu Seed Network is a non-governmental not-for-profit association structured horizontally.
Tingui (2017) by Tui Anandi / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Like the wind, we work to spread the seeds
8. Tingui — Collector Clerizia Pantaleão, who is also a farmer in the Jaraguá settlement in Água Boa (MT), processes golden tingui seeds, also used to make soap. When the tingui fruit ripens, it breaks and the seeds are carried away by the wind.
Xixá (2014) by Tui Anandi / ISAInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
Long live the seeds that restore the forest!
9. Xixá — Farmer João Carlos Ferreira, who lives in the Dom Pedro settlement in São Félix do Araguaia (MT), displays the Xixá fruit, the last on the list of essential seeds in a muvuca. The xixá is a key tree for the conservation of the hyacinth macaw, that likes to nest there.
Behind the scenes of "Fazedores de Floresta" about the work of Rede de Sementes do Xingu and ISA (2019-11-22) by Tadeu Jungle/JunglebeeInstituto Socioambiental - ISA
We are much more than nine seeds!
We are a muvuca of people collecting over 120 different species of native seeds every year. Learn more about how this work is done! Watch the movie at fazedoresdefloresta.org.
Xingu Seed Network Association
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