'Nossa Floresta Nossa Casa' Promotes Knowledge Sharing on the Açaí Chain

September, 2022 — The Nossa Floresta Nossa Casa [Our Forest, Our Home] project promoted an exchange activity aimed to strengthen the açaí value chain at the Tubarão Latundê Indigenous Land, in the state of Rondônia.

Nossa Floresta Nossa Casa was conceived and executed by Forest Trends with strategic support from Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA) and USAID/Brazil, in addition to institutional support from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and Greendata. 

During the activities, Indigenous producers and managers from the Kwazá Indigenous Land shared their experiences and lessons learned from years of harvesting, managing, and marketing açaí. They also processed the berries themselves. 

These exchanges motivate and encourage the Aikanã and Latundê Peoples, at the Tubarão Latundê Indigenous Land, a region which is a major producer of açaí.

Açaí is the most widely extracted non-timber product from the Amazon region, and plays an important role in generating sustainable income for Indigenous families and traditional communities living in the forest. Açaí berries grow on palm trees; they have a high calorie density and are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Harvest is based on ancient Indigenous practices, which are now being strengthened by new technologies.

Once harvested, the berries, which have a characteristic strong purple color, are processed, and the pulp is commercialized. The time between harvesting and processing must be short to preserve the quality of the product. 

The event provided general technical guidance on management, including story sharing by Kwazá participants. 

They received guidance on processing the pulp for consumption and commercialization. The activity attracted more than 20 participants, and provided an opportunity to engage with other Indigenous communities to improve their commercialization processes.

For Suellen Mangueira, technical assistance coordinator at Forest Trends, “our role as a partner organization is to show the opportunities the standing forest provides through successful experiences, as in the case of açaí from Kwazá do Rio São Pedro”.

To learn more about the initiative, visit here.