By Virginia Cross A traditional chilli pepper found on tables across the Peruvian Amazon is on its way to the U.K, thanks to the English non-profit Plant Your Future. Spicing up dishes with some of this Amazon heat connects straight back to farmers working to restore the rainforest. This tiny pepper, known as ají charapita, […]
Iván Ulchur-Rota Açai (Euterpe oleracea) is a small black fruit that hangs from tall palms of the lowland regions in the Amazon. In the archipelago of Bailique, in the northeastern part of the Brazilian Amazon, farmers harvest the fruit by binding their feet together to form a stirrup that grips against the trunk of […]
Jacob Olander First it was hamburgers, then chocolate and now guacamole. Tropical forests are being relentlessly sacrificed for our far-away indulgences. Avocado growers are trashing native pine and oak forests in Mexico. A boom in cocoa planting comes at the expense of tropical forests in West Africa and Peru. And beef is responsible […]
Read More… from Consuming deforestation: Where are your standards?
Iván Ulchur Rota El açaí (Euterpe oleracea) es un pequeño fruto negro que cuelga de los topes de palmeras en las zonas bajas e inundables en la Amazonía. En el archipiélago amazónico de Bailique, en el noreste de la Amazonía brasileña, sus cultivadores trepan las largas y delgadas palmeras atando sus pies con una […]
Read More… from Bailique: el protocolo comunitario que dio frutos
Por David Berón Imagina lo siguiente: acabas de empezar una empresa para conectar directamente a pequeños agricultores del campo colombiano con miles de consumidores en las grandes ciudades del país. Tu modelo de negocios puede duplicar los ingresos de los agricultores, mejorar la calidad de la comida en los centros urbanos y demostrar […]
Read More… from Propulsando los negocios sociales: ¿Qué son las aceleradoras?
By David Berón Picture this. You have started a small enterprise to directly connect smallholders in rural Colombia with consumers in the country’s largest cities. Your business model could boost the incomes of farmers, increase the quality of food in urban centers, and make a case for affordable and readily available organic produce. […]
Read More… from Picking up Speed for Startups: Our Accelerator Roundup
Agustin Nervi “Before they came, nothing happened here. There was no market, nothing…” Claudio whispered as he skillfully drove his trusty F-100 through sandy roads across the wild dry thorny bush that characterizes the Chaco-Santiagueño plains in South America. As we approached his village it was clear I was in for an interesting […]
Read More… from Getting Fair Trade right; honey and poverty in rural Argentina
I used to be a barista. “Are your beans certified?”, people would ask as they waited on the counter and as I struggled with the latte art. “Yes,” I´d answer, pointing at the many seals attached to our coffee bean bags. There were three, but they differed depending on the batch: Fairtrade Labeling Organization […]
We sat down to talk to Eliot Logan-Hines, Executive Director of the Runa Foundation. The Runa Foundation is a not-for-profit entity that works closely with its commercial partner, Runa LLC, to support communities and ecosystems in the Amazon by commercializing its one-of-a-kind products in a manner that adds value to and conserves the forest, as well […]
Read More… from After introducing Guayusa to the world, what’s next for Runa?
By Karina Bautista Queremos compartir emocionantes buenas noticias: Una gama de inspiración desde diversas iniciativas sostenibles de México, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, Brasil, Ecuador, Colombia y Perú, llegó a Canopy Bridge en respuesta a nuestro llamado a encontrar iniciativas innovadoras de sostenibilidad en la región. Desde nuez Maya y nuez de Castaña, a hostales […]
