Permanent land: producing food with the Atlantic forest

Abstract

The “Terra Permanente” project, developed by UFSC Permaculture Study Group, aimed to
stimulate the transition from conventional food production to a more sustainable condition in
harmony with Atlantic Forest, through the training of farmers and extension agents in a Permaculture
Design Course. Thus, were developed technical and scientific knowledge about
agroecological methods from the point of view of permaculture as a rural planning tool. The
proposal was composed of three stages, a target audience leveling for the understanding of
permaculture through the course, a participatory rural diagnosis that revealed the weaknesses
and potentialities of the family production units with intention to adoption of techniques of
permaculture and understanding of the flow of production. Finally, a stage of research-action
using Permaculture MESMIS methodology to evaluate farmers life quality and the sustainability
of their geographic spaces of life.