WELCOME
About Us
The Problem And
The Solution
The Solution
THE PROBLEM
Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has reached such an alarming rate – an area twice the size of France has already gone, with more disappearing every year - that we are approaching a tipping point. There is a very real risk that the remaining forest will simply dry up and die out.
At that point the world’s largest remaining tropical rainforest and biggest store of biodiversity will turn irreversibly into savannah. The consequences of this would be almost unimaginable, affecting rainfall patterns across Latin America and drastically reducing the planet’s capacity to absorb atmospheric carbon. It is no longer enough just to protect the trees that are left in the Amazon; we need simultaneously to be protecting AND replanting.
Unfortunately at the moment the opposite is the case. Areas of supposedly protected rainforest are being cut down and land that has already been deforested is not being replanted.
The Amazon is a vast area so it is hard to generalise as to why this is happening but the two biggest drivers of deforestation in the Amazon are the soya and cattle industries, with most of that soya being shipped to the EU and China where it is used as animal feed.
The Amazon rainforest is being cut down, burnt and – one could even say – eaten up right before our eyes.
THE SOLUTION
Planting trees is the oldest, tried and tested method of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And planting trees can generate enormous and long-lasting benefits for local communities. We are offering a proven solution for protecting and reforesting the Amazon and we hope you will join us on this journey or contribute with us towards the goal in whatever way is feasible for you.
We firmly believe that a majority of the people who live in the Amazon do not want to be cutting down trees and burning virgin rainforest.
There are a few bad actors who take advantage of living in a region where laws are often weakly enforced. But there are also a lot of people who are simply poor and looking to make a living any way they can. If we can provide a way for them to make a living planting trees then we can reverse the process of deforestation. It’s as simple as that. And that is why we founded Fruits of the Amazon.
Planting and caring for a fruit tree takes time – and creates jobs. Caring for the seedlings in the nursery, planting the young trees in the ground, applying chicken manure and other organic fertilizer, ensuring the trees are thriving and getting enough water. And then once the trees reach maturity harvesting and processing the fruit. Decent jobs in a region where unemployment is high, and jobs which directly contribute to regenerating the Amazon rainforest.
Our business model is simple and ambitious. We tap into Western demand for healthy, organic diets that are free of chemical residues and high in fruit and vegetables and set in place a virtuous circle; the more fruit we sell, the more trees we will have to plant and the more jobs we will have to create. And hopefully when others in the Amazon see what we are doing and see that the returns on organic fruit production are far better and create more employment than cattle ranching or low margin, chemically intensive soy farming they will be incentivised to do the same.
By making it more profitable to plant trees than to cut them down everybody - including the planet - wins.
Our Progress
The spiky green plants you can see in this photo are young açaí palms. We leave the native grass growing in-between the trees in order to help capture and retain moisture during the dry season.
When choosing where to replant we prioritize areas that border existing pockets of rainforest. That way our trees expand the total surface of tree cover and create ecological corridors for insects, birds and mammals to move through.
A beautiful new dawn in the Amazon. A ray of morning sun and a field of newly planted organic açaí palms.
Links
Letters From
People Who Care About The Amazon
PODCAST OF THE AMAZON
EPISODE #1
EPISODE #2
EPISODE #3
EPISODE #4