CHAKRAS – Choices in Amazonia for Knowledge and Research on Agricultural Systems

Every daily decision shapes the development of lands surface

A game between agricultural processes and technical interventions to simulate real worlds interactions in a controlled setting.

The CHAKRAS board represents a forested landscape along a highway. It consists of six farms, each of which is assigned to one player and composed of nine plots of land, three plots of secondary forest (close to the highway) and six plots are primary forest. Players can choose which land (plot) to clear, which crops to plant (annual or perennial crops) and whether to receive the support of a variety of public and private institutions.

The game as a model

Individual farmers often make decisions at the plot-level, including where to clear land, what to plant, how to manage labor, and whether to engage with external actors seeking to influence land use decisions. Players of the game are in the role of those farmers, and their actions mirror farmers’ daily endeavors: preparing land, buying seeds or seedlings, planting crops, harvesting, selling, paying bills. Players chose how to use their available financial resources to manage their assigned farmland. External actors are introduced at the beginning of each new round and players have to decide collectively whether to participate in the support program that is offered.