In an attempt to save the land where he was born in northeastern Brazil from the threat of desertification, 70-year-old Alcides Peixinho Nascimento has turned to agroecological practices to recover native vegetation and at the same time produce food for his livelihood. The semi-arid Caatinga, a unique biome, has lost more than 40% of its total land area, which is now used for intensive agriculture, mining or wind energy generation, according to the MapBiomas network. And increasingly severe droughts, linked, according to experts, to climate change and the expansion of agribusiness, are increasing the pressure on this region, the poorest in the country. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES