EcoTeas Reforestation Project Plants Sustainable Agriculture in Endangered Argentina Ecosystem

ASHLAND, OR - Jutting up like a big green thumb wedged between Paraguay and Brazil, the Misiones Province in northern Argentina is known as the Corredor Verde, or Green Corridor. One of the largest surviving remnants of the once vast Interior Atlantic Forest ecosystem, it is home to the jaguar, the coati, the toucan, migrant North American nighthawks... and EcoTeas Yerba Mate. The national drink of Argentina, yerba mate herbal tea is becoming popular in the U.S. for its high antioxidant load and balanced stimulation.

Because the Green Corridor also fuels 70 percent of Argentina's timber industry, forest clearing has caused devastating impacts in the region. EcoTeas is working with their family farm partners to heal the land by planting thousands of native trees among and around their yerba mate groves.

According to EcoTeas founder Stefan Schachter, the goal is to create shadegrown yerba mate, restore biodiversity and watershed quality, and increase economic productivity as an incentive for sustainable organic farm communities throughout the yerba mate growing region.

"Our farmers are very excited to be planting the trees," says Schachter. "Our experiences will be extremely important as other farmers throughout the region seek to enact similar shifts on their land when they realize that such a huge market exists for sustainably-grown yerba mate in North America."

EcoTeas is splitting the cost of the project with its farmer partners. One of its large bulk herb customers is also committing support. And EcoTeas is assisting farmers with the legwork of communicating with Argentine and U.S. nonprofits and universities that have the necessary technical expertise.

Besides planting trees, EcoTeas is helping its farmers to re-acquire land that once belonged to them. The land - more than 200 acres - was planted in yerba mate many decades ago, and now the yerba has "gone wild" with native trees growing up all around it.

"Our farmer has long dreamt of getting this land back," Schachter explains. "Now we have the opportunity to not only cultivate shade-grown yerba mate, and to enrich our farmers as a reward for their sustainable farming model, but also to study the way succession occurs in this endangered forest type."

Often the environmental debate is framed as a tension between conservation and preservation. Conservation is epitomized by a "wise-use" approach, whereas preservation is a "leave-it-alone" approach. EcoTeas supports a third way: restoration.

"Our project is exploring how these forests can be restored in a way that works for farmers," Schachter says. "We are creating win-win situations where the people and the forest can both thrive."

To learn more about EcoTeas Yerba Mate and its Green Corridor reforestation project in Argentina, visit www.ecoteas.com.