Amazon Aquaculture Initiative

Local Resources

Local Resources

Pond construction is by hand; designs vary depending on the characteristics of a particular site. The majority of families have access to springs or small local streams that they can dam to make a small pond, long and narrow. Some fish farmers choose the greater effort but increased security of digging a pond and filling it by hose from a nearby stream. Either way, purchased materials are minimal: sandbags and PVC pipes to supplement the hand dug earthworks.

The early period of the initiative was dedicated to developing designs for low cost ponds relatively simple to construct yet able to withstand the heavy rains typical in the Amazon. The goal was to allow farming of fish in semi-natural systems and to provide the opportunity for participants to learn fish management techniques.
Fish are fed with a variety of local resources including termites, insect larvae, and kitchen scraps.

These Amazon Projects pages are historical. For current information, please visit laslianas.org. All Indigenous Aquaculture photos: Jim Oldham.

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