Regene­rations

Juliano Salgado remembers visiting his grandparents’ cattle farm in the 1980s as a boy. “I was walking with Manuel, the vaqueiro,” Juliano recalls, referring to the hardened cattle rancher who had worked the land for years. The two went to see a spring Manuel had in his memory as being particularly beautiful. But when they got there, all they found was a barren, dusty patch of earth, devoid of water. Manuel’s tough-guy exterior crumbled at the sight. It was, Juliano recounts, as though his world was falling apart.

Decades later, Juliano remains closely involved and is now President of Instituto Terra, the non-profit his parents founded in 1998, on the farm once owned by Sebastião’s parents, to restore the land. He inherited his mother’s vision and drive, and patience from his father, who could easily spend a day or longer to get a perfect photo.

Storytelling through imagery

Born in 1974 in France, Juliano, like his father, first studied economics, law, and then gravitated to storytelling through imagery. After receiving a degree from the London Film School, he directed an award-winning documentary focused on his father’s work. He moved to Brazil in 2015. It was the same year the country experienced its biggest ecological disaster when a mine tailings dam upriver from Instituto Terra failed, sending a torrent of toxic sludge along the Doce River to the Atlantic Ocean. Despite setbacks, Instituto Terra has succeeded, becoming a real-life example of restoring the balance between humans and nature.

Sponsorships have helped. Through Zurich’s support, Instituto Terra has expanded, and built a new nursery to vastly increase its production of seedlings. Juliano calls the nursery the “engine of change” necessary to expand his parents’ dream of re-establishing harmony between those who live on the land and the natural environment, creating a virtuous circle of sustainable agriculture. “The change, when you regrow trees on a plantation or over cattle land, where it’s as dry and hot as ours, will have a very positive economic impact,” he says.

The Rio Doce Basin has a population of over three million people, and covers an area nearly as big as Portugal. Much of the local economy has typically relied on mining. But the renewal now taking place is making the land more viable for sustainable agriculture, allowing more families to support themselves through farming.

Zurich’s independent charitable entity, the Z Zurich Foundation, is also looking to provide support for funding education, including through long-distance online learning to enhance Instituto Terra’s capacity to train the next generation. Juliano calls this “one of the least known aspects” but one of the most important to ensure that the long-term mindset needed for sustainable practices can take hold and be carried forward, so that such a program might be a model for others. As he explains, “our plan is actually to start transforming the world one region at a time.”

The sudden shade of trees

The idea that began as just a dream has proved to have staying power. “You need to be a hardworking dreamer. You have to carry those dreams for years – for decades.” Looking to the future, Juliano is passing this passion for renewal on to his children: his son, Flávio, is also actively involved in the day-to-day at Instituto Terra.

And, in the meantime, the hard work is paying off.

Trees are growing, helping to restore the water cycle that had been disrupted. Springs are flowing again. Juliano recalls the surprise and joy he felt when he first realized that instead of dry cattle pastures, the foliage had returned. “Suddenly, you know, I felt the shade of the trees. That was amazing. To walk in a replanted forest (is like) … walking inside a complex living organism. You feel how powerful and transformative it is.”