Inga alley cropping is a new, smart way of farming which brings more and healthier food crops while reducing the amount of work and money spent on a farm.
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Inga trees, locally known as bri-bri, are leguminous - meaning that they give nutrients back to the soil. The trees planted in rows grow until they create a canopy that shades the alleys in between, which kills weeds. The inga trees are pruned, the leaves left on the ground for mulch and the branches used for firewood to use or sell. Annual crops are then planted in between the rows without the need for fertilizers or herbicides.
Because inga plots can be used for up to 20 years, you won’t need to use fires and worry about causing damage to your neighbors’ farms. At the same time, you are helping to save forests. The inga alley cropping system requires very little labor to maintain after it has been established.
At Ya’axché, we recommend using the Inga edulis species because it produces a lot of big leaves, which are good for mulch. The trees also have a quick rate of recovery after pruning and a high number of nodules on their roots that release nutrients into the soil.
Produced by Ya’axché Conservation Trust
With financial support from the Interamerican Foundation
For the farmers of the Maya Golden Landscape and beyond
Producer: Maximiliano Caal
Narrator: Julio Chub
Appearances by: Gustavo Requena, Eugenio Ah, Isidoro Sho, Mateo Ack, Miguel Coc, Manuel Tut
Script: Stephanie Smith
Photographs: Fabienne Lefeuvre
Music: Tenderness by Bensound
Special Thanks to the Inga Foundation.