A three-hour drive northeast of La Paz is the Bolivian region of Yungas, a subtropical moist broadleaf forest where valleys are covered by lush vegetation. This green land, the true crossroads between the Andes and the Amazonia, is considered as a biodiversity hotspot, the home to more than 1500 different species. Tropical fruits, coffee and cocoa find optimal conditions here to bloom and flourish thanks to the warm and humid climate coupled with the abundant rainfall.

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However, these traditional crops have been slowly abandoned over the years to the benefit of the monoculture of coca, the sacred plant of Andean societies. Far beyond the problem of cocaine trafficking (which is not the subject of this photo documentary), this intense farming presents certain adverse effects for the environment, affecting soil productivity, causing landslides and polluting rivers. Some local producers are ready to diversify their crops and return to their roots, at the sole condition that these can generate viable and sustainable economic resources.

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It is within this context that the Franco-Bolivian association Corazón del Bosque (Heart of the Forest) has taken up residence not far from the small village of Yolosa. With the notable support of Zero EcoImpact, a French company providing a web platform promoting environmental projects (thanks to whom I was able to visit this ecological organization), Corazón del Bosque has been working since 2012 to diversify local farming and move away from a coca monoculture.

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Their activities are structured around three main objectives: the development of apiculture, the implementation of agroforestry systems, and raising local communities’ awareness, in particular that of the youth. The organization’s ultimate aim is to protect the existing forest biosphere and, at the same time, generate new income for the farmers.