Sharing agroecological practices between farmers on mixed crop-livestock farms in Guadeloupe, using the Poul Genm game, a reinvented board game [Practice Abstract]
Based on the game of goose, this board game tells the story of Poul Genm (in Guadeloupean Creole) settling on a mixed farming and livestock farm in the Caribbean, highlighting its good initiatives and missteps.
The poul genm is a wild genotype found in the countryside of the Caribbean, with males used for cockfighting. It has been chosen as a symbol of resourcefulness, harmony with nature, and as a marker of the cultural identity of Guadeloupe. By analogy with Jeantet (2009), the backyard garden acts as a common cultural memory, which one seeks to modernise with acquired knowledge, the biological processes involved, and the new constraints encountered (emerging pathologies, labour intensity, differentiation of farm products, etc.).
The backyard garden of Guadeloupe is intrinsically agroecological, and the game illustrates the agroecological principles underpinning family farming in Guadeloupe:
Prioritising soil over plants, and plants over animals Increased biodiversity;
Recycling of nutrients (C, N, etc.) and energy autonomy;
The need for specific training;
Increasing the value chain on the farm;
The necessary organization of farmers.
The animal (species, genotype or combination of genotypes) is chosen according to the plant resources and the environment prevailing on the farm, and its ability to exploit the former and adapt to the latter.
Mixed farming is not an animal-based system, but one based on the soil and plant resources. Food takes precedence over feed. The animal then occupies its rightful place in the food chain, and the efficiency of the system is optimised.
Keywords: Biodiversity, Socio economic resilience, Transdisciplinary research
Country: France (Guadeloupe)
