Farmer Case Study: Angel Sarca
In the remote community of Amaquella, 64-year-old Angel Sarca Cipriani is preparing to plant over 9,000 trees in 2025
This will be his first year working in reforestation. But for Angel, this is about much more than planting trees. It’s about restoring the land, securing a future for his children, and reversing decades of soil degradation.
What Decades of Farming Left Behind
When Angel arrived in Amaquella in 1990, the rainforest was dense with gigantic Ungurahui (Oenocarpus bataua) and Aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) trees—native species that once flourished in the Amazon.
But as his family grew in this new home, so did the pressure to sustain them.
Angel converted the land into agricultural plots, growing maize, beans, cocoa, and bananas. And for years, these crops did sustain his family, which soon consisted of nine children.
To increase earnings and further diversify his income, Angel also raised cattle, and sheep for sale. But the continuous cycles of cultivation and livestock grazing eventually left the land exhausted and unable to sustain healthy plant life.
Looking out over his degraded pasture, with the soil stripped of its fertility, Angel knew he needed a different approach.
A Decision for the Future
Angel’s wife had already joined the Plant Your Future program in 2024. Seeing the impact on her holding, Angel recognized an opportunity to regenerate his own soil and invest in the future of his family.
In his inaugural year, he’s planting 2 hectares of silvopastoral systems and another 2 hectares of native reforestation, totaling more than 9,000 trees.
Reversing the Damage
The Plant Your Future team is working alongside Angel, who’s now on a path to make his land productive once again.
Together with his eldest son, Angel is building a silvopastoral system that goes beyond planting trees—a system where livestock and trees coexist and thrive.
Rebuilding Economies, Restoring Ecosystems
But by rebuilding the canopy, protecting the topsoil, and integrating reforestation with sustainable farming, Angel is hoping to find that restoring the land and making a living don’t have to be at odds.
He’s watched his neighbours—who’ve been planting trees with Plant your Future since 2019—do just this. His farm is now part of a much bigger effort—one that breaks the cycle of land exhaustion and short-term survival toward a long-term ecosystem investment.
Through sustainable land management, Angel is regenerating the land, supporting biodiversity, and securing a future for generations to come.
And thanks to supporters like you, more farmers like Angel are able to reclaim their land, not just one tree at a time, but on a landscape-changing scale.