Participants from a United Nations climate change conference had the opportunity to see first-hand techniques of conservation agriculture on a field trip to RAEBIA Timor-Leste’s Manatuto resource centre on Friday.

One of three organisations selected to host conference participants, RAEBIA Timor-Leste welcomed approximately 30 conference delegates to its resouce centre in Manatuto, which was built in 2009 with funding support from USC Canada.

RAEBIA Timor-Leste’s executive director, Xisto Martins, showed delegates techniques the organisation uses with the local community to conserve the land, including rainwater storage, composting, terrace farming, seed storage and seedling cultivation.

RAEBIA Timor-Leste works closely with local communities to introduce farming techniques that ensure land is used sustainably, in ways that protects the environment against the effects of climate change, and that advance the community’s livelihood and interests.

From Manatuto, the group visited RAEBIA Timor-Leste’s second resource centre, which was build behind Dili’s Cristo Rei statue in 2013 using funds from USC Canada. The delegates heard about the slope farming techniques RAEBIA Timor-Leste and US AID’s Avansa project use to preserve farmland on Dili’s challenging mountain slopes.

At the conclusion of the tour, the delegates expressed their thanks for the trip and asked how they could remain involved in RAEBIA Timor-Leste’s work.

Media enquiries

Sophie Raynor | RAEBIA Timor-Leste
sophie.raynor@raebia.org
+670 78040822