At a Glance
Location: Amazonas, Brazil
Impact Areas: Labor Inclusion, Environment, Sustainable Income
People Supported:
Small-Scale Farmers, Rural
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2021
Overview
One of the most renowned social organizations in the Brazilian Amazon, Associação dos Produtores Rurais de Carauri (ASPROC) supports local riverine communities to produce and sell biodiverse products sourced exclusively from the rainforest, including pirarucu fish, manioc flour, natural rubber, and açaí. Through these sustainable value chains, the association generates stable incomes for local communities while conserving thousands of hectares of land in the rainforest.
Communities along the Juruá River are isolated from urban areas and have limited access to basic goods, health services, and other essential items. To improve food security and living conditions for these populations, ASPROC created numerous outposts in major riverine communities that provide essential products such as toilet paper, gasoline, and soap to small producers at fair prices in exchange for their Amazon production. By making purchases directly through outposts, ASPROC reduces traveling times for most small producers — on average, families are only one and a half hours away from an outpost.
ASPROC empowers its suppliers to access higher prices for producing quality, organic products by equipping them with resources and skills. Its training courses cover topics that range from business management to organic production with an emphasis on fostering environmental awareness and improving sanitation standards in local communities. For its Pirarucu farmers, ASPROC introduced sustainable fisheries practices that improve the conservation of local biodiversity.
In addition, ASPROC sends social assistance employees to visit remote suppliers on a regular basis. The association offers micro-loans and other financial services in emergency situations to help small producers to stay afloat, covering business operation costs such as equipment acquisition. During the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak, ASPROC delivered free hygiene and cleaning kits to 713 families.
Results & Impact
700+
riverine families supported
2,800
marginalized individuals impacted
“Responsible management of the pirarucu not only protects the species but also allows for the protection of other species such as manatees, otters and alligators, as well as the forest itself. ”
NESsT Investment
In the next few years, ASPROC aims to consolidate its existing value chains and expand to new metropolitan markets in preparation for new lines of bioeconomy products. NESsT will offer technical assistance on improving ASPROC’s financial controls, knowledge management, and operational systems, building a new digital infrastructure that can sustain the association’s growth.
NESsT’s investments will also be directed towards obtaining organic certification and implementing new traceability standards for its Pirarucu value chain. Pirarucu is an Amazon fish of high nutritional value with low fat and no thorns, in addition to great flavor. Traditionally, it has been the animal protein that sustained Amazonian populations for centuries, yet modern consumption levels are low especially in regions outside of the Amazon due to misidentification of the species and lack of information. NESsT will offer ASPROC strategic support on marketing strategies that seek to popularize and brand Amazon-native products, increasing public acceptance and bringing the Pirarucu fish to new markets with environmentally-conscious customers.