FARFARM: textile agroforestry.

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting in the world. One of the key issues is that 85% os the fabrics uses toxic raw materials, like synthetics fibers (which dump micro-plastic in the ocean and chemicals in the soil) or conventional farming cotton (the crop that uses most fertilizers and a lot of water). FARFARM grows fibers that regenerate soil and provide community development. We do this using Agroforestry, a regenerative farming system that uses especies to collaborate with each other, creating a closed ecosystem without the use of external inputs. An Agroforestry sequesters from 10 to 20 tons of carbon per ha / year, increases biodiversity, water availability and protects the soil agains erosion. Our model consist of educating communities to grow agroforestry, planting fruits and vegetables fot their consumption, as well as cotton, jute and other fibers fot the textile industry.  

The fashion industry impacts almost all the 17 sustainable development goals. It employs mostly women in emerging markets with low-wage payments, sends 21bi tons of textiles to landfill per year, majority using chemicals, which contaminates 20% of the fresh water globally. These stats presents the responsibility Fashion Industry has in the climate change crises, however, it's an industry driven by consumption, price and short-term results, with a slow pace to structural change. Regenerative farming systems, like Agroforestry, is focused on the health of the soil, with strong results of productivity and quality as plants grow better, faster and healthier. In Brazil, where is our farm, the agribusiness have a strong political influence, with incentives to large scale and dirty practices, being the 5th largest cotton producer in the world. Our focus is to educate agricultural communities about Agroforestry, growing food and textiles (like organic cotton) in small pieces of land, while regenerating soil and growing healthier goods as a competitive differentiator. Agroforestry systems decreases to zero the needs of fertilizers, whereas 60% of costs of conventional farming comes from it. Our higher costs goes to education and labor, moving it as an investment for community development.

Agricultural families: they will be able to learn a new and innovative system to diversify their production, feed their families and sell the surplus protected by the market variability. 

Textile Co-ops: Cooperatives that works with natural fibers will have another resource to work with, learn how to work with different fibers and fabrics. 

Textile industry: This is a traditional industry in one of the largest cities of the Amazon Rainforest, Belém, where we are working. This industry has been pressured by imports from India and China and needs to innovate in other to survive. 

Designers: These fabrics will be sold to designers that want to use sustainable materials with credibility and provenance, trusting they are not greenwashing, but actually doing good for the planet.

Our work consist of:

1) Research: a database of agricultural communities, more os less developed, that woks with fibers or other materials, but could be improved.

2) Engage: connect with the communities, its leader and cooperative to understand the possibility of implementations of Agroforestry or diversification of crops.

3) Educate: educate and help to implement the agroforestry practices focused on food protection and natural fibers.

4) Management & Logistics: define a process together with mills to make the link between farm and industry, to be spinned and woven for the fashion industry.

5) Data & Story: fabrics are embedded with the regenerative data and LCA of the process, with content and transparency about the process.

We like to say we are using the nature technology "coding of real life" to develop our farms, and the social technology of community engagement, relationship and trust.

Concept: as far as we know, there's no such a thing in the world as a Textile Agroforestry. It's a new concept and a new approach against the monoculture that impacts so much our environment with the excess use of water and chemicals. 

Community & Agroforestry: we have a community of people that work with Agroforestry in Brazil and that believe in the concept, especially Ernst Goetsch, the father of Agroforestry, our mentor and supporter of our project. Even though Agroforestry was selected as one of the main Solution by the Draw Down Project, Agroforestry is new to the rest of the world.

Fashion Industry: it use to not look at farms as a main stakeholder. But, farming consist of the first step of every natural fiber garment. With the transparency of internet, brands are looking and connecting closer to farms, like Kering (Gucci owner) and Patagonia.

Agroforestry systems include both traditional and modern land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in agricultural settings. They are dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management systems that diversify and sustain production in order to increase social, economic and environmental benefits for land users at all scales.

There is a growing body of scientific literature that demonstrates the gains accruing from agroforestry adoption. The UN-FAO recognizes these advantages and believes agroforestry can contribute to improve the environment and the lives of people.

Our solution starts with the community where they will be learning a new and more sophisticated way of farming, a regenerative farming process called Agroforestry. This knowledge will be able to provide food security for the communities and well as a means to exchange more knowledge, pass on the younger people and neighbors. As of now, we have educated 20 families on how to do Agroforestry, domestic composting and how to sell their production.

On the fashion industry perspective, we are increasing the share of organic cotton and other organic natural fibers in the market. Organic cotton doesn't uses any chemicals and it is biodegradable. Organic raw materials doesn't pollute freshwater or oceans, doesn't releases microplastics and it does all of this while regenerating soil and nature.

We are working with 20 families right now. We are piloting this program to collect enough data and move our methodology next year to another area which has over 250 families of indigenous communities and quilombolas (ex-slaves). There are a lot of agricultural families cooperatives in Brazil that have a similar range of 250 hectares and 250 families. In 5 years, if we implement our program in 5 of these cooperatives, we could have regenerated over 1,250 hectares of land, an area larger the New York City. 

2019: implement a large-scale pilot program, which has been financed by one of the top Brazilian Fashion Brands.

2020: roll-out the methodology to the 250 families that lives next to our pilot program.

2025: have a methodology and framework to develop cotton using agroforestry systems with the same costs as conventional cotton.

- Funds: to test the pilot and develop the rollout programs.

- Technology: machines to be used on the Agroforestry development.

Pitching our solutions on programs like this to shows the amazing benefits of Agroforestry and incentivize the Fashion Industry to invest on the farming process of their materials. There are no governmental incentives in the agribusiness for small scale organic farmers, we believe that the private sector and impact investors are the main stakeholders to help make this happen.

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Partner: all part-time

- Beto Bina, 12 years in strategic consultancy in Brazil and US.

- Pedro Saldanha, lawyers specialized in environment.

- Werner Kinas, 12 years in the financial and investment market.

Contractors

- Felipe Villela, engineer and specialized in Agroforestry.

- Larissa Duarte, textile researcher.

Our core team of 5 people has all the skills to make this happen, from the business and financial knowledge, to the agroforestry and textile experience, to law, incentives and certifications. More over, we are five Brazilian that have a huge passion for nature and the Brazilian Amazon, eager to find a solution to develop it sustainably.

Fashion For Good: one of the top Fashion Industry Accelerators providing mentorship and connection with the major Fashion Brands.

ReNature: my partner is one of the founders of ReNature, an NGO from the Netherlands specialized in Agroforestry system. They are all scientists with degrees in Agroforestry, Food and Forestry management. 

AmazôniaUP: the Amazon Entrepreneur Center is where we are incubated. They are a non-profit with a lot of credibility from the public and private sector, led by Beto Veríssimo, founder of Imazon, a well-known research institute with over 20 years of work in the region. 

Chocolates DeMendes: a private company that works in the region growing cacao organically and in agroecological systems. This company was created by César De Mendes, a líder in the community and also one of our mentors.

We are a consultancy company that develops Research, Community Engagement, Implementation, Management and Data Report in Regenerative Raw Materials for the Fashion Industry.

We connect with clients from the Fashion Industry to understand their problems and needs to use more Regenerative Raw Materials. With a defined briefing, we develop a scope of work, paid by hours, where we deliver the services listed above, from research to data reports.

- Mentorship: connecting with the most skilled and talented professionals.

- Inspiration: from other companies and start-ups.

- Fund: to make our prototype happen.

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Fashion Industry companies, like Patagonia, Kering, North Face and others. In order to help us develop our regenerative farming model, use their technology and industry to process the fibers, and implement the fabrics in their products.

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Developing a new raw materials that take in consideration the whole life-cycle of it. Developing a clothing and apparel that are climate positive and sequester more carbon than emits with a new business model that can be replicable in other regions of the world.

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