FMNR at school and at home
January 3, 2017
By Natalino Cardoso Henrique- World Vision Timor Leste
Andre da Costa, 47 years old, is a teacher of central primary school Hauba, suco Malibu sub district Bobonaro, Municipality Bobonaro in Timor Leste. In the photo above he stands with his wife Paulina Maia Barros, 42 years old. They have 6 children aged between four and 17. Andre was trained on FMNR in 2015. Since then he has been practicing FMNR on his farm, which is currently 10 acres, as well as at the school where he works.
“I started to know about FMNR from Bobonaro acts on climate change (BACC) project staff who came and trained us about FMNR. Currently we have mahogany seed for about 5000 which we are going to plant with involvement from the government institution.” Andre says.
“I have groups name TEGAS (a combination of Tebabui and Bugas – the name of two sub-villages) which consist of 25 members with 15 women and 10 men and we have been involved in some activities such as FMNR, horticulture and tree nurseries. We have also made a nursery for rambutan which is new for us to plant.”
While doing FMNR Andre also thinking of planting his farm with coconut, citrus, mango and jack fruit. His passion for planting various trees in his farm is because he wants his children to enjoy their future and be happy and healthy. At the school he uses subjects like biology and nature conservation to
Currently he is extending his farm from 5 ha to 10 years especially for the planting of mahagony, fruit trees and additional horticulture. Andre provides an example for his fellow community members to learn from as he is implementing FMNR alongside crops and showing how trees can have a positive impact on farms. Community members, including the village leader, have asked for training in FMNR. Andre hopes he can get more support in the future for FMNR implementation in the community.