A groundbreaking Brazilian community demonstrates how to farm sustainably in the forest—no cattle necessary
Alice Berger and her nephew João Pedro Chaves are producers of cupuaçu, açaí, rambutan, Brazil nut, and andiroba.Pedro Soares, manager of the climate change program at IDESAM, a Brazilian NGO, says it’s a pattern found in frontier regions throughout the Amazon. Loggers intimidate local residents, cut the most valuable timber, clear the land with fire, plant pasture, and attempt to establish ownership through, a time-worn process of paperwork doctoring.
The fires were even worse in 2020, and the Abunã district of Rondônia, where RECA is located, had the third highest number in the Amazon. Fábio Vailatti, who oversees RECA’s fire response efforts, blames Bolsonaro, who at one point suggested that In the early days, Sérgio would throw the sacks of rice they produced over his back and haul them 1.5 miles along a trail to the highway, unpaved at the time, where buyers would pick them up. The road was virtually impassable then during the rainy season, leaving the community cut off from the outside world—and unable to sell their crops—for nearly half the year.
Now, at RECA's headquarters along the BR-364, workers in hairnets and face masks separate the edible pulp of cupuaçu from the seeds that are then pressed into oil destined for face creams and shower gels. At the co-op’s store, the broader community can purchase RECA goods directly: honey, eggs, cassava chips, chocolate-covered Brazil nuts, and an array of homemade wines and liqueurs. Today RECA employs 70 people and pulls in $1.9 million in annual revenue.
Cultural norms play a role as well. Raising cattle symbolizes that one has moved out of a subsistence lifestyle. “Cattle is associated with pride,” says Valentim, who comes from an Amazon farming family and has spent most of his life in the region. “A cattle rancher is seen as someone who is working hard and being prosperous. A guy with forest around his house is seen as lazy.”
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