The month of January started productively for the program that Interelos has been developing at the Resex Verde Para Sempre, the largest extractive reserve in Brazil, with the definition of two chains to be prioritized after a preliminary study of alternatives for the expansion of sustainable economic activities in the region.
A part of the project consultants traveled to Porto de Moz, in Pará, for three days of immersion with the CDS team, the Porto de Moz Sustainable Development Council, in which they presented the market studies of five chains: açaí, fish, Brazil nut, certified timber, and vegetable oils (Andiroba and Pracaxi). The meeting had a hybrid format and was also attended by other analysts remotely.
The presentations were enthusiastically received by the CDS team, who, in a private meeting, discussed the criteria for choosing the two chains that will be prioritized and will have the business plan developed. Thus, they defined the açaí and fish chain as the most viable from a socioeconomic and environmental point of view, since the production of açaí has the potential to include new families in the articulation of the GGF (Forest Management Group) and provide the development of a chain based on non-timber forest products, promoting the multiple use of the forest. The initiative has the support of ASPAR, the Association of Artisanal Fishermen of Porto de Moz, an important partner for the structuring and viability of the two chains, as it has an ice factory in the region, which will serve for the cooling of fish and açaí, since both products require special care with the temperature.
The idea is for local actors to participate in the construction of business plans together with the Interelos Institute to improve their production, organization and management processes and, above all, strengthen the link between these producers and the market. This will always be done respecting the environment, human rights and seeking a strategy connected with education, in a long-term partnership with Rural Family Schools, so that professional training can be developed together with the development of the production chain, a well-known model for using the environment as a propelling element of knowledge.
The next step in loco is scheduled for the beginning of February with the presentation of the prioritized chains to the communities involved in these production chains and also to deepen the mapping of the productive base in the territory.