In Search of Sustainable Oils - Brazil

The Green life Association of Amazonia (AVIVE) is a community-based project in the Silves district of Amazonia State, Brazil, organised and run by the women of the district. It was formed in 1999, with the help and assistance of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Brazil. It aimed to build a community project that would provide environmental education, employ the vast knowledge of local cultural heritage, and establish self-sufficiency for the traditional community, especially for its women for whom employment opportunities are scarce.

AVIVE produces cosmetics, soaps, incense and essential oils from locally grown and collected forest produce. In addition to its community-based projects, AVIVE's aims also include the sustainable production of essential oils from leaf and twig cuttings. Having established the initial goals of the project, including educational programmes and some replanting of denuded areas, AVIVE are now focusing on developing extraction techniques that will contribute to securing the future of Rosewood as a species.

The following is a story of hope from the forest. It comes, however, with one caveat - I do ask you to remember that AVIVE are not yet producing commercially viable quantities of sustainable rosewood. Their rosewood leaf and twig essential oil programme is still experimental and, although I do hope you will join me in supporting its wonderful achievements, please do not lose sight of the fact that illegal logging of Rosewood is still a major problem cutting deep into the very heart of our planet.

This is AVIVE's story, told by Barbara Schmal who is a coordinator with the AVIVE project. I hope it will inspire you to help them continue and advance their work but also to keep questioning what you are told about Rosewood oil origin - there is still much work to be done in the area of rosewood conservation.

The story of AVIVE

Silves is situated 300 km east from Manaus; it is one of the smallest districts of the Amazonas State, extending to 3,747 km. There are 7,7B5 local people - known as Caboclos - who are half Indian and half Portuguese. The main village is located on the Saracá Island, surrounded by the 5araca, Mirituba and Canacarí lakes and the Urubu and Sanabani rivers, as well as by forests and flooded lands. Waters and forests are the main fountain of life and existence here, creating a very delicate partnership between Mother Nature and the people who live and work alongside her.

Silves was founded in 1650 by Portuguese conquerors and, although it is now a beautiful and idyllic place, its history is not serene: In the Saracá village - the second oldest village of the Amazonas State - of the original nine different lineages of indigenous people none survived the Portuguese conquest of the 17th and 18th centuries.

For a long time following the conquest the Caboclos lived peacefully in harmony with nature by fishing, hunting and planting. Then their wonderful lakes were discovered by big fishing companies and the bounty of their forest by large timber companies. A new wave of exploitation began but, this time, it was the very land and environment itself that suffered.

At the beginning of the 20th century, an English company established the first Rosewood Essential Oil Distillation Unit in Silves, on the Saracá Island. At that time Rosewood trees were plentiful, near to hand, easy to cut and transport. The company harvested rosewood for nearly ten years before moving on, leaving the local population without employment or income, their land decimated.

Between 1940 and 1978 a Brazilian company established another distilling unit, this time along the Sanabani River towards the middle of the forest, 25 km from the Saracá Island. Rosewood was becoming rare; production did not last. In the 1980s, others tried to establish distillation units in the area but without success: the trees were too remote and deep within the forest.

The project

Since Silves had historically been a main centre of Rosewood essential oil production (this oil is traditionally used in homemade cosmetics and ethno-medicine), AVIVE came up with the idea of a community project to develop a range of natural products, made with local essential oils. The production and management would be organised and run by AVIVE members and the women of the community.

The association's main goal was to promote a demonstrative economic alternative for the women of Silves through the sustainable extraction of essential oils and the production of natural cosmetics. The project was to involve the community and integrate environmental conservation work - with special attention to Rosewood.

In July 1999 WWF-Brazil approved AVIVE's proposal for the community project Sustainable Production of Essential Oils in the Municipality of Silves, Amazonas. WWF-Brazil undertook to support the project technically and financially until July 2001.

The planning of the partnership between AVIVE and WWF-Brazil ensured that the necessary knowledge and skills were gained and support was given for the setting-up of the sustainable usage community project. The project will eventually be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified (FSC is an international agency that monitors sustainable forest usage.) The project will involve re-forestation with native species for the demonstrative-level, and micro-scale extraction of essential oils from aromatic plant species, including those threatened with extinction and/or used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.

The second stage of the partnership agreement aimed at research and production of a basic range of vegetable-based cosmetics (soap, shampoo and conditioner). These have now been launched in the jungle hotels and eco-tourism market in the State of Amazonas, and will later be extended to other areas of the national and international market.

Achievements

§ The achievements of AVIVE members since July 1999 include:

§ The construction of a shed, a plant nursery and a workshop.

§ The production of an assessment of natural populations of aromatic plant species, especially Rosewood, in the municipality of Silves.

§ The installation of an experimental processing unit and initiation of experimental distillations of essential oils such as Puxuri, Rosewood, Louro Nhamuhy and Preciosa, all obtained from the branches and leaves of those trees.

§ Arranging for chemical tests to be carried out on the above essential oils.

§ Growing tree seedlings in the AVIVE plant nursery.

These include Rosewood (Aniba roseadora Ducke),

§ Puxuri (puchury major or Aniba puxuri), Preciosa (Aniba canellila), Itauba (Mezilaurus itauba), Cedro (Cedrella odorata), Angelim (Pithecolubium racemosum), Andiroba (Carapa guianensis) Cumaru (Diperyx odorata) and many others - a total of 4,327 seedlings by the end of 2002.

§ The planting of aromatic tree seedlings in partnership with association members and local farmers in the municipality of Silves. A total of 812 trees were planted by 2002.

§ The production of experimental batches of a range of cosmetic products; soaps with essences of Rosewood, Preciosa, Cumaru, Andiroba, Copaiba and Melao-sao-Caetano.

§ The development and initial production of an aromatic mixture of Amazonian resins and plants from Priprioca and puxuri, to be used to scent rooms.

§ The production of insect-repellent candles scented with Copaiba and resin.

§ The opening of a sales outlet, AVIVE Natural Products, in the Panorama area of the Island of Silves, to sell to local people and to visitors.

Rosewood

Due to the intensive extraction of Aniba roseadora (Rosewood) throughout the twentieth century, the tree is now an endangered species and IBAMA (http://www.ibama.gov.br) the Brazilian government environment agency responsible for conservation, has taken a series of measures to regulate its exploitation. Studies have been carried out on the seeds, germination, vegetative propagation, and growth of the species, and a wide, but dated, body of literature is available on the subject. However, much of this data is from the 1940s -1970s and needs to be revised and updated.

Between July 1999 and July 2000, AVIVE identified and registered only 68 Aniba roseadora trees in the municipality of Silves, an insufficient number for any extraction and clipping programme.

The association therefore began to gather 120 Rosewood regeneration seedlings - young plants that grow beneath or near to adult trees. In addition to these seedlings, a further 300 were acquired from a company in Manaus that specialises in cultivating Rosewood seedlings. These Rosewood seedlings, along with others of various native Amazonian species, were grown in the AVIVE nursery. Most were then planted in degraded community areas in the municipality.

Currently, the exploitation of Rosewood is regulated by IBAMA by means of Edict No.1 of 18 August 1998. Until AVIVE are able to produce viable quantities of home distilled Rosewood, the essential oil of Rosewood used in AVIVE soaps and shampoos is bought from a producer in Manicore, Amazonas who is registered with IBAMA.

AVIVE hope to launch a Rosewood-Adoption-Campaign within the next few months, 2000 rosewood seedlings will be planted in the AVIVE Reserve in the Silves municipality. Details of the campaign will shortly be available on the AVIVE website at www.avive.org.br/

In addition to Rosewood, AVIVE also conserve and utilise other local tree species, chosen for their medicinal or fragrance properties. These are used in AVIVE products and the replanting of them avoids the loss of biodiversity that plantation-type monocultures create.

The reserve

The plan to introduce a Sustainable Development Reserve/Conservation Unit in a terra firma area of the municipality of Silves first arose as a way of solving AVIVE's problem regarding the lack of proof of the existence of raw material for the Association's work. Without such proof, IBAMA would not allow AVIVE to register as a producer of essential oils. In the case of Rosewood, the documentation required by IBAMA is stringent, and the replanting of native seedlings is only authorised by this body in degraded areas close to primary forest. Silves is a prime area for such replanting.

In 1999, AVIVE submitted an application to be allowed to use some vacant land. The application has been accepted by the technical authorities and an inspection was carried out in June 2000 to determine the geographical limits of the reserve.

Young trees in the AVIVE nursery

Made in the community

The women of AVIVE are now professionally capable of producing up to 10,000 natural soaps each month. They use a ready-made glycerine base - 100 per cent vegetable based adding only 100 per cent natural essences and colourings (eg Rosewood essential oil as a perfume and the vegetable extracts Crajiru, Urucum and the juice of papaya leaves to obtain the dark red, orange and green colours of the soaps).

They have also created their first aromatic smoke mixture, named Uirapuru, made from local resins and shavings of woods such as Preciosa and Rosewood (from the branches) as well as Puxuri (powder from the seeds) and Priprioca (from the roots). This Incense or Aromatic Air Freshener is a popular product with foreign tourists visiting the local hotels. AVIVE sell the incense in 20g bags, and are exporting the blend in bulk to Germany (the product is exempt from Ministry of Health registration).

The women of AVIVE

As ecological awareness grows, demand for Amazonian natural products increases, sometimes to the detriment of the very environment that stimulated the interest. AVIVE is determined to ensure that the bounty of the Amazonian region is used responsibly and with respect for the environment and the local community.

Amazonia is a beautiful and spectacular part of the world but people live, work and die here just as they do in more densely populated areas, just as they do in your own locality. Many who live and work here try to live in harmony with nature, but that does not mean they must live in poverty or in an isolated vacuum. The world moves on and so too do the people of Amazonia. AVIVE seeks to do this whilst protecting - not destroying - Amazonia's innate beauty. To this end AVIVE's sale conditions are based on the concepts of international Fair Trade - the buyers will pay a fair price, higher than that normally paid on the market. This difference in price will go directly to the project, to benefit the women, the community and the environment.

Latest developments 2003

February

The AVIVE project is cited as one of 30 case study examples for sustainable community development by Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada.

July

A local artist produces a small frog necklace which will be reproduced in both silver and ceramic and sold to boost AVIVE funds. Details for purchase will be available on the AVIVE web page shortly. Or contact Liz Tams at IFPA for more details.

The Governor of Amazonas state visits AVIVE and presents the project with a complete production centre for natural cosmetics, including a new distilling unit.

AVIVE are granted land rights to almost 2,000 hectares of land, to start their main planting programme. If you would like to help fund this project, please visit the AVIVE web page for details.

August

The Sustainable Business Service select AVIVE as one of four community-based initiatives in Amazonia to be offered services such as legal advice, the improvement of management systems, technical support, advice on access to financial resources and on sales and marketing.

Recognition for achievements

At the beginning of the project AVIVE may have been viewed with some fear and distrust on the question of Rosewood and Amazonian plants. Today, however, most of those who are familiar with AVIVE's work have changed their opinion, and now understand that ecological management of the species can be beneficial both for the environment and, importantly, for the local community.

Our 'management team' are all members of AVIVE, women residents of the town of Silves or of communities in the municipality. The women, between the ages of 16 and 70, take full responsibility for the production of the natural cosmetics. They are mostly married with children but, until now, had no skilled occupation and no professional experience. But, over the past four years they have trained in commercial practice, computer techniques, and handicrafts and taken courses in English language and accounting. Today, they are creating, producing, administrating and selling in a voluntary capacity - all by their own efforts.

The spirit, goodwill and enthusiasm of these women to learn new skills, to protect and regenerate their natural environment and traditional cultural practices and values, and to improve the quality of women's lives in the Amazon rainforest region, was honoured on 30 August 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, where they were awarded the first United Nations Development Programme Equator Initiatives Prize.