On Former Palm Oil Plantations, Small Farmers Are Bringing Brazil’s Forests Back to Life

Four years ago, Jessica Soraia's life hit a turning point. Living in Belém, Brazil, she was unemployed, her husband was battling depression and the future felt uncertain. So, Soraia made a bold decision: She and her family packed their bags and left the city for the Abril Vermelho Settlement, a former palm oil plantation in the Amazon rainforest.

Brazil's government-supported farm settlements offer land, housing and resources to families who can't afford to buy property. But what drew Soraia to Abril Vermelho was the promise of sharing in something bigger: a chance not only to rebuild her life, but to help revive a slice of the Amazon scarred by years of degradation. She had heard stories about small-scale farmers like herself building new communities and livelihoods in the area, all centered around revitalizing the land.

What seemed like a gamble soon became a source of hope and stability. Alongside fellow farmers, Jessica now earns a living growing and selling mangoes, cassava, cashew, avocado and more. Through their work, the surrounding forest is coming back to life, with native plants and animals returning to the once-bare earth.

Jessica Soraia, one of the farmers at the Abril Vermelho settlement. Photos by Yantra Imagens

Jessica's journey is part of a larger movement across the Brazilian Amazon that aims to transform thousands of hectares of degraded farmland into fertile landscapes. The effort - supported by WRI Brasil, Imazon, Instituto Centro de Vida, and Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (the Landless Workers Movement) - is showing how restoration and food production can work together.

As countries around the world grapple with rampant deforestation and competing demands for finite land, examples like this show a better path forward - one where healthy communities, sustainable economies and vibrant landscapes can all thrive.

Making a Living Restoring the Land

WRI Brasil is working with five settlements like the one Soraia joined in the state of Pará, Brazil, and has seen the power of community-led restoration firsthand.

Abril Vermelho and João Batista are located just outside Belém in Northern Brazil.

João Batista and Abril Vermelho, two settlements outside Pará's capital of Belém, are leading this effort. Covering 11,000 hectares in total, the two settlements were once used for industrial-scale palm oil and livestock production, which left the land bare and the soil depleted. Today, they are home to 700 farming families working to transform the land through more sustainable management.

Much of the farmers' success hinges on agroforestry, a farming technique that involves planting trees alongside crops. In the Amazon, agroforestry can mean growing staple crops with strong markets - like cassava, açaí or cocoa - alongside mainly native tree species, such as Brazil nut trees and cupuaçu (similar to cocoa), that help regenerate the land.

Plants and people alike benefit from this system. Trees can help restore soil health and improve water quality while also protecting crops from wind, heat, drought and other stressors. Farmers may see higher yields and more diverse harvests as a result, helping to boost their incomes. Together with other smallholder farmers in the region, families from Abril Vermelho and João Batista were able to open a new farm store in Belém to sell their produce to the broader community.

A farm store in Belém sells produce grown by farmers at the Abril Vermelho and João Batista settlements. Photo by Yantra Imagens

At the same time, trees in agroforestry systems offer vital ecosystem services that are becoming ever more important as the climate changes, such as storing carbon, maintaining water supplies and buffering communities against extreme heat. They also bring back habitat for species that may have been pushed out by ecosystem destruction.

Luiz Gonzaga is among the farmers in the João Batista settlement who have experienced the effects of these techniques first-hand. Walking through fields of green that were barren just a few years ago, Gonzaga explains: "We have the blue macaw, the curia, the trinca-ferro - birds that had disappeared. But after we reforested and the fruit started growing, the birds returned. The thrush, the pipira, the parrot and many others."

Clearing the Way for Nature to Thrive

While agroforestry is a powerful tool, planting seedlings can be an expensive and labor-intensive activity for small-scale farming families. But it is not the only option.

Some farmers in the settlements are also leveraging "assisted natural regeneration": a blend of active planting and passive restoration, where local people intervene to help trees and native vegetation naturally recover by eliminating threats to their growth. In other words, it involves clearing the way so that nature can regenerate on its own.

Often removing whatever is causing the degradation - in this case, monoculture farming and livestock pastures - can go a long way toward transforming the land. But farmers are proactively assisting natural recovery, too; for example, by removing invasive or exotic species that choke out native plants, or by building fences to prevent livestock from grazing in areas that are regrowing.

Research by WRI Brasil evaluated assisted natural regeneration projects in Brazil and around the world. We found that, not only is this an effective technique, but it can also be paired with agroforestry to make it easier for small landowners to implement restoration on a large scale.

Community members and WRI Brasil staff participate in a workshop on restoration opportunities at the Abril Vermelho settlement. Photo by Igor Lopes/WRI Brasil

Putting People at the Heart of Restoration

For farmer Igor da Silva - one of the founders of João Batista, who moved there before the settlement was established - the devastated plantation land used to feel like a place of hopelessness. Water sources had dried up, crops withered, and fish, once a staple in his family's diet, became scarce. Even simple joys like swimming were no longer possible for his children.

But today, that picture has completely changed.

"In six years [after restoration], the water returned 100%," he says. Springs have replenished, crops are thriving, fish are abundant, and now the sounds of children swimming and laughing fill the air again. This transformation is all thanks to restoration.

Farmer Igor da Silva is one of the founders of the João Batista Settlement. Photo by Yantra Imagens

Farmers themselves are the key to this success. Not only are they tending the land, but they were integral to the design of the Abril Vermelho and João Batista settlements. Officials from WRI Brasil, the Landless Workers Movement and other partner organizations worked closely with the community to structure and implement restoration plans, ensuring that the process met both environmental goals and the farmers' needs.

"I felt part of a process by doing these activities, by participating in the decision-making, in the joint deliberations," says farmer Marcio Jandir da Silva Lopes.

This sense of ownership is crucial. Family farms around the globe produce most of the world's food. Without their involvement, no matter how effective agroforestry techniques or natural regeneration methods are, large-scale restoration won't succeed. Indeed, locally led restoration projects are proven to be up to 20 times more likely than projects led by NGOs or national governments to create a lasting impact.

Communities living on the land must be directly involved from beginning to end, taking part in decision-making, organizing production, and building connections with others focused on restoring degraded areas.

Scaling Up Restoration in the Amazon and Beyond

These trailblazing communities show that with the right approach, it is possible to restore degraded land, protect biodiversity and create sustainable livelihoods for those who need it most. The next step is to replicate their learnings - both across the Amazon and around the globe.

Governments, organizations, businesses and individuals worldwide must come together to invest in locally led restoration projects. To drive long-term success, not just short-term results, they must put effective monitoring, management and partnerships in place and ensure communities are at the heart of every effort.

The land feeds the world; with the right approach, land can also heal it.