Forest enrichment and reforestation: a view from San Miguel de los Baños.
Cándido Prieto Vasallo, a member of the Nicomedes Nodarse Credit and Services Cooperative (CCS), is promoting a project called Forest Enrichment and Reforestation, with the goal of rationally utilizing forest resources and ensuring the sustainability of the natural environment.
“Why this project? Because this way, I take advantage of the mature tree, the one that can be used in the forest, which will no longer grow. I replace it with another timber tree, and thus the forest is renewed. This approach is called forest or silvicultural management, and it’s the right thing to do,” explains Cándido.
Based on his experience, he believes that keeping trees ready for harvest without using them properly constitutes a waste. «These trees fall, dry up, rot, and are a resource that society fails to utilize. This isn’t a personal benefit, but rather a social contribution, because wood is necessary for construction, formwork, doors, windows, flooring… Even the least precious woods have uses,» he says.
Furthermore, the project includes an agricultural and fruit-producing component: “I’m going to designate an area for fruit trees. I have gravity-fed water, and although the areas are small, they will be sufficient for self-consumption and a little more. In two years, those plants will be producing, and that’s also a resource that society needs.
We all see the shortage of fruit; if every producer plants, things improve.” Cándido acknowledges that the delay in the project’s approval is related to his financial situation: “I have to bear the costs. As I harvest the wood and my finances improve, I will be able to reinvest what I earn to continue reforesting and expanding productive areas.”
The project will be developed in stages: harvesting mature timber, reforestation with timber and fruit species, and the rational use of forest byproducts such as marabou, which can be used for charcoal production.
His farm, called San Lázaro, covers 33.5 hectares, of which 26 are in operation. It is located in the San Miguel de los Baños area, a territory where forest heritage is highly valued for the country.
«It’s a natural forest that I want to improve and promote. Within the fruit trees, cedars and mahogany can be planted, and in other areas, marabou can be harvested. Everything has a use; the important thing is to do it correctly,» he concluded.
Written by Yunielys Moliner Isasi.
