Since its creation in 1992, the Audemars Piguet Foundation has pursued its mission to safeguard forests in the world over within the framework of environmental protection and raising awareness in youth. The foundation’s most recent initiative takes it to Cerrado, Brazil. The regent hugely participates in Brazil’s economic development – livestock farming, mines and eucalyptus for cellulose and charcoal from steel factories. However, a small number of farmers have come under hard times due to the exports business.
In the Montes Claros region, families have created the Centre d’agriculture alternative (Alternative Agriculture Centre, CAA), which attempts to give back a decent life to Cerrado’s farmers, as well as secure a future for their children. The Audemars Piguet Foundation is financing three parts of the Entraide Protestante Suisse’s (Swiss Protestant Mutual Aid) programme that trains young farmers, restores biodiversity and assists in reforestation.
The first of the training project financed by the Audemars Piguet Foundation has just been completed. The training project – which blended theoretical training and practical work experience – got young people to re-learn agricultural techniques that respect the environment. Families involved in the project have received the seeds and the necessary guidance to create nurseries for trees, vegetables and grains that are adapted to degraded soil and climatic changes.
