Agroforestry remediates soil and enables crops to adapt to climate change. It’s suitable to mitigate the effects of extreme temperatures and reduced precipitation, and was already known to the Incas, who applied agroforestry during a previous climate change event, roughly a thousand years ago.

Located in the Cochabamba Valley, MOLLESNEJTA – Centre of Andean Agroforestry on 16 hectares is situated above the irrigation canal of the village of Combuyo, on the southern slopes of the Tunari mountain at an elevation of ~ 2.800 m above sea level. Climate is semi-arid with an average
air temperature of 18°C, and an average annual precipitation of 500 mm from December to March.

From April to November is dry season. The ground is very stony and situated on a hillside with varying degrees of inclination. In 1998, before the implementation of agroforestry, the topsoil was degraded by overgrazing livestock and traversed by numerous eroding rills.

The soil recovers through the application of agroforestry: The main focus lies on identifying the best combinations of different crops and fruit trees with company shrubs and trees, mostly of them native species, in order to create productive plant communities under extreme conditions. The high
biodiversity establishes a natural equilibrium of pests and their natural predators. The closed ground cover enables an increase of the soil fertility and its water retention capacity.

Several experimental plots are managed and scientifically guided under cooperation with Bolivian and European universities. In 2015, the UN’s international year of soil, experiments for soil remediation with Terra Preta and ramial chipped wood started, all the material originating from
pruning within Mollesnejta. All the experiences and results are shared in workshops and published.

• 2001 Successional agroforestry parcel with olive trees as the primary species (0,25 ha)
• 2001 Mixed agroforestry parcel with fruit trees in community with native species (0,5 ha)
• 2001 Parcel with a combination of olive trees and tagasaste (Chamaecystisus proliferus) (0,25 ha)
• 2004 Mixed parcels with several different pine species, native species and fruit trees (0,5 ha)
• 2004 Parcel with grape vine (Cabernet) to test the effects of water stress (0,25 ha)
• 2005 Agroforestry parcel with species from different climatological regions (SAF Tropical; 0,1 ha)
• 2005 Mixed parcel with trial specials to test for the suitability against landslides (0,01 ha)
• 2006 Successional agroforestry parcel with avocado trees as the primary species (1 ha)
• 2006 Successional agroforestry parcel with walnut trees as the primary species (1,25 ha)
• 2006 Agroforestry parcel with grape vines from Tarija and tagasaste as support structure and leguminose (0,25 ha)
• 2007 Parcel with different pine species (0,5 ha)
• 2007 Mixed parcel with oak, pine, and native species (0,25 ha)
• 2007 Mixed parcel with fruit trees and Peruvian pepper (Schinus molle) (Artemisia anua 2007/08) (0,25 ha)
• 2008 Mixed parcel with woody species, exemplary for watershed management (0,5 ha)
• 2008 Mixed parcel with pines and native woody species (0,5ha)
• 2008 Agroforestry parcel segmented into terraces by tara (Caesalpinia spinosa) and fruit trees (1,5 ha)
• 2008 Mixed forestry parcel on the banks of an eroding rill (0,25 ha)
• 2009 Grape vine parcel with legume trees for nitrogen fixation and support structure (0,1 ha)
• 2009 Vegetable garden with sample plots to test the effects of Terra Preta (0,05 ha)
• 2010 Mixed parcel with native hardwood species and pines (0,5 ha)
• 2010 Mixed woody parcel (Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus globulus, Acacia dealbata) (0,25 ha)
• 2010 Observatory parcel to test the effects of Opuntia ficus-indica and native species on soil remediation (1 ha)
• 2010 Observatory parcel to test the effects of native species (Kewinhua, Kishuara) on soil remediation (1 ha)
• 2011 Parcel with Ginkgo and medicinal plants originating from naturally succession (0,5 ha)
• 2011 Agroforestry parcel with Opuntia ficus-indica other naturally occurring species (1 ha)
• 2012 Agroforestry parcel of three woody species (Pinus, Eucalyptus, A. dealbata) plus Opuntia ficus-indica
• 2012 Miniature agroforestry parcel with native species, tree tomato, and insect repellent species (0,01 ha)
• 2012 Experimental parcel with sea-buckthorn (0,01 ha)
• 2013 Parcel with fruit trees, native species and medicinal plants (0,1 ha)
• 2013 Experimental lucerne plot with native species and fruit trees as a living fence (0,1 ha)
• 2013 Two parcels with animal fodder in blackwater retention ponds (0,01 ha)
• 2014 Silvopastoral parcel with natural succession species and Tipuana tipu as a living fence (1 ha)
• 2014 Silvopastoral parcel with natural succession species as a living fence (0,5 ha)
• 2014 Parcel with native crops and fruit trees as a living fence (0,1 ha; SAF-Tara 6)
• 2015 Parcel with animal fodder in combination with acacia (0,01 ha)
• 2015 Experimental parcel for sea-buckthorn cultivation (0,01 ha)
• 2015 Round successional agroforestry parcel with camuesa apple and fig trees (0,25 ha)
• 2015 Round successional agroforestry parcel with different crops (0,1 ha)
• 2016 Silvopastoral parcel with a living fence made up of native species, woody and fodder species (1 ha)