The stage is an important milestone for the development of the açaí production chain in the region
Since 2004, the Verde Para Semper Extractive Reserve, located on the banks of the Xingu River, in Pará, has been a protected place, created to preserve the lifestyles and culture of traditional communities. However, environmental and economic challenges have always been present. Despite the great wealth of natural resources, the region still faces the challenge of a lack of fully organized structures that can optimize their use. In this context, an opportunity opens up to boost its sustainable development.
In growing global demand, açaí is one of the main products that drive the Amazon economy. The chain in the Extractive Reserve region, however, does not yet exist in a structured manner and local demand needs to be met by açaí from municipalities such as Gurupá and Breves. Therefore, representatives of some communities, including São Raimundo do Batata, Irapi, São Francisco, Santa Clara, Atepó, Samaúma and Cuieira, joined the CDS and Interelos towards the creation of an açaí extractive chain.
Building consensus
In continuity with the Interelos Socioeconomics Program at Resex Verde Para Semper, our experts began, in 2023, a series of workshops dedicated to discussing the development of the açaí chain. The starting point was the PNDC, the Business and Community Development Protocol, a crucial tool for establishing consensus and agreements that will define the basis for structuring the production chain, by addressing the needs of communities and market-oriented guidelines.
The Interelos consultant, Mariana Chaubet, environmental manager with extensive experience in articulating community protocols, commented on the tool used in the territory:
“In our methodology, we start the dialogue from the individual, exploring how they recognize themselves in the territory.”
Mariana Chaubet
“Next, we seek to build the history of your community, understanding how its individuals organize themselves and make decisions, identifying leaders and historical milestones. This process aims to solidify the feeling of belonging of individuals from the six communities that are building a joint path. And the next steps involve agreements and modeling of the chain from the producers’ perspective.”
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Workshops culminate in agreements for the açaí chain
The cycle of workshops proposed at the PNDC served as a catalyst for the progress of the debates:
The first workshop dealt with the presentation of the project as a whole and all the stages for implementing the chain, bringing data, market information, with the aim of obtaining Free, Prior and Informed Consent (CLPI) from producers in the communities involved.
The second workshop focused on socio-environmental cartography and territorial identity, collecting socioeconomic data to build a baseline for monitoring.
The third workshop dealt with the Stages of the Chain and Public Policies, discussing sustainable management, access to public policies, validating the data collected and discussing agreements for implementing the production chain.
Finally, in the fourth workshop, the proposal to create a cooperative of açaí producers was defined, bringing to producers the main differences between association, cooperative and private company, in addition to constituting and defining the responsibilities of the management committee and modeling the chain for the marketing of açaí.
Example and Experience
Chaubet's expertise in articulating the açaí production chain proved to be fundamental in guiding and stimulating important points for decision-making by producers.
“I have been working with açaí for over 10 years. When I started the community protocols in Bailique, the community members had not defined what the production chain would be. Therefore, we debated a lot and açaí was defined by them as a priority. In this protocol, açaí was previously discussed and we were able to improve the discussion of the business model, having the amazonbai as a reference, this helped 100% because they can see themselves on this cooperative path.”
PHOTO: DEYVISON CRUZ
Far beyond representing mere theoretical exercises, the workshops shaped practical actions, strengthening the union and consensus of the six communities involved around the creation of a cooperative that represents them.
After all, what everyone aims for in the Verde Para Semper Extractive Reserve is a sustainable economic horizon resulting from engagement and collaboration. The completion of this stage, at the end of 2023, represents the end of a cycle, but also the promising beginning of a new phase of development within the reserve. The expectation for 2024 is the arrival of a period of intense work dedicated to the effective implementation of the açaí chain.
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