Newsletter July 2008

Bursting with antioxidants and providing an abundance of nutritional benefits, it is no wonder that the açaí berry has long been a staple of the native diet in many parts of Brazil. This deep-purple fruit has higher antioxidant content than the vast majority of plants in the world, a property that is chiefly obtained through anthocyanins stored in the outer layers of its dark colored skin. The antioxidant level is up to 7 times higher than the blueberry, and is leagues ahead of other closely related counterparts such as the pomegranate, cranberry or blackberry.

It is for these very reasons that açaí has become an increasingly popular fruit with health enthusiasts in recent years; the rich and exotic taste has been blended into a number of health drinks, juices, yogurts, sorbets and even beauty products that have hit markets worldwide. Several companies have promoted the berry as a miracle fruit and consumers looking to increase their intake of nutrients and vitamins have snapped up açaí products with enthusiasm.

But the potential of the açaí stretches far beyond improving the diet of those who consume it. Mass deforestation has scarred the Amazon rainforest since the 1970’s, a result of ‘progress’, and expansion in profitable trades such as cattle ranching, soybean farming, mining and logging. This has led to as much as 40 percent of the rainforest being destroyed beyond repair, a process that unfortunately only shows signs of worsening.

In contrast, the palm from which the açaí grows need not be hacked down to harvest the plant. Better yet, its fertility is dependent on both the shade of other Amazonian trees and the rich nutritional properties that can be found in the soil within 25 yards of the rivers banks. Effective cultivation of the açaí relies on preserving the rainforest’s rich biodiversity, as an abundant yield cannot be obtained through farming the palms in rows.  Should the popularity of the açaí continue to grow, this would lead to larger areas of the rainforest being preserved, helping to curb the rate of deforestation that has been all too rampant in recent years. 

Central to the conservation process are the livelihoods of some two million ribeirinhos, or river dwellers, who practice a 400-year-old tradition of subsistence farming cultivating plants such as the açaí.  Ribeirinhos have mastered the skill of climbing up the slippery palms to pick the fruit; they retain knowledge of how the açaí seed is spread by tropical birds; and they act to sustain the biodiversity that maximizes the yield of their treasured crop. 

Protecting the ribeirinho way of life from greater destruction of the Amazon would be of unequivocal benefit to local communities. It would give them the opportunity to maintain a good standard of living through continuation of their family trade, and would allow them to profit from the growing popularity of their local crop. They would be able to continue passing knowledge to their children, and youngsters would no longer be lured to the crime and violence of the favelas (slums) in the cities.

Bolthouse Farms in California is one such company whose aim is to develop a local economy around the work of ribeirinhos. Rather than simply importing the açaí, they have based production of their ‘Bom Dia’ range of drinks near the town of Belem, providing jobs to local populations in the Amazonian state of Para. They aim to build on the time-honored traditions of the ribeirinhos whilst developing their skills in modern agricultural techniques in order to make the açaí available to people across the world. 

A number of development projects in agriculture and community have since sprung up in the area. These have included provision of sanitized water, the construction of a new grade school, protection of sustainable harvesting practices and guarantee of a fair wage for employees. Although small in scale, the ‘Bolthouse do Brazil’ project provides an example of how responsible development of sustainable and organic agriculture can benefit local populations whilst still allowing global access to a fantastic crop. Most importantly perhaps, as ‘guardians of the rainforest’, ribeirinhos will be helped by such developments to continue and expand preservation of the most delicate area of our planet’s biodiversity.

Source:

Bomdia.com

Earthtimes.org

Guardian.co.uk

Wikipedia.com

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PAST NEWSLETTERS:

• Newsletter June 2008
• Newsletter May 2008
• Newsletter April 2008
• Newsletter February 2008
• Newsletter January 2008