Kelly Franco with organic coffee

Piso Verde is the name of the farm that young farmer Alquilino “Kelly” Franco is currently developing. Heavily influenced by his education at CREAR as a young man, Kelly has decided to dedicate his life to encouraging organic agriculture and soil conservation in his community. Piso Verde is Kelly’s attempt to express his ideas in the form of a demonstration farm.

This photo illustrates the diverse nature of the farm. Kelly is standing on forage peanuts, a shade tolerant, tropical species. In addition to his work as a farmer, Kelly certifies organic farms. Piso Verde already has several hectares of organic coffee in production, the fruit of which Kelly holds in the photo. Indeed, the entire farm is certified organic, and Kelly reaps the economic and ecologic benefits of organic certification. In the background, several banana trees provide fruit and an additional source of income.

Soil erosion after slash and burn

Since he was a boy, Kelly worked in agriculture with his father. They cultivated rice, coffee, beans, cassava, pigeon peas, and corn. Kelly describes the slash and burn agriculture he learned as a boy:

"My father used to cut down a piece of the forest, and then he sliced the forest into smaller pieces. After 15 to 20 days of sun, we set the forest on fire, and all of the earth became black because of the great quantities of ash. But after that the rain would come, and the black ash would erode and disappear."

At the age of 16, Kelly entered CREAR and began to learn about organic gardening and biodynamic agriculture. At CREAR, Kelly realized that slash and burn agriculture was detrimental to the future of Dominican agriculture. After finishing his studies at CREAR, Kelly worked in agricultural extension in several communities.