Case Studies UNDP: FRUTASA INDUSTRY, TRADE AND EXPORT LTD, Brazil

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Brazil

FRUTASÃ INDUSTRY, TRADEAND EXPORT LTD.

Empowered live

Resilient nation



UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran

Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa

Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the FrutaSã Industry, Trade and Export Ltd., and in particular the guidance and inp

o José Costa Ayres Junior. All photo credits courtesy o FrutaSã. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. FrutaSã Industry, Trade and Export Ltd., Brazil . Equator Initiative Case Study Series. N

York, NY.

http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf


http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858





PROJECT SUMMARYFrutaSã has its roots in a scoping study o the BrazilianCerrado eco-region conducted in the 1990s to determinesocioeconomic challenges acing smallholder armersand indigenous communities. Alongside mountingenvironmental threats to the region, exacerbated by theeconomic marginalization o the rural communities andsubsequent over-exploitation o local resources, thesendings inspired the ‘Fruits o the Cerrado’ project, whicheventually became FrutaSã Industry, Trade and Export Ltd.

This eco-enterprise creates income or small-holder armers

through the sustainable extraction, marketing and sale o non-timber orest products, particularly native ruit pulp. The organization is hal owned by a private partner, and hal by the Centre or Indigenous Work, on behal o indigenouscommunities. The initiative has successully combinedlocally-abundant ruit varieties, traditional knowledgeo their cultivation, and modern processing and storagetechniques.

KEY FACTSEQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2006

FOUNDED: 1994

LOCATION: Tocantins and Maranhão states, Brazil

BENEFICIARIES: 300 FAMILIES

BIODIVERSITY: Chapada das Mesas National Park

3

FRUTASÃ INDUSTRY, TRADE ANDEXPORT LTD.Brazil

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 9

Policy Impacts 9

Sustainability 10

Replication 10

Partners 10



4

he Cerrado is a vast savanna region that stretches across centralrazil, covering an area o two million square kilometers. This area

ccounts or almost one th o Brazil’s land area. While attention is

more oten ocused on the threats aced by the neighboring Amazon

ainorest, many important tributaries o the Amazon River actually

riginate in the Cerrado, tributaries that also eed the world’s largest

wetland ecosystem, the Pantanal, which is situated on the borders

Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. Despite being one o the oldest and

most biodiverse savanna ecosystems in the world, the Cerrado is

nder threat. Over the past 35 years, the wetlands and surrounding

cosystems have been signicantly degraded and many o the

egion’s more than 130 endangered species are endangered. The

rimary threat and the driver o biodiversity loss in the region has

een land conversion or large scale, commercial agriculture. Land

onversion has not only damaged an important ecological zone,

ut undermined the ability o resident indigenous populations to

ustain their livelihoods.

Outside o the agri-business sector, much o the Cerrado is

haracterized by economic marginalization and poverty. The

order region o Serra da Mesa between the northeastern states o

Maranhão and Tocantins is particularly aected. The population in

his area consists largely o amily units living on small-hold arms

between 30 and 400 hectares. Farmers grow a variety o crops

nd many oversee small herds o domestic animals as a nancial

aety net. The majority o households also maintain vegetableardens to provide ood or their amilies, generate income and use

n traditional medicine.

Massive deorestation in the region, with accompanying loss o

ocal livelihood security, reached a crisis point in the early 1990s.

A number o local and indigenous stakeholders, including the

Center or Indigenous Work (Centro de Trabalho Indigenista) and

he Wyty-Cate Association o Timbira Communities o Maranhão

nd Tocantins ( Associação Wyty-Cate, das Comunidades Timbira

do Maranhão e Tocantins), began discussions on how to saeguard

he region against urther environmental destruction, imminent

threats to indigenous cultural survival and territorial integrity,growing economic insecurity. With only 15 per cent o indige

territory suitable or agriculture, alternative livelihood options

income streams were pressing needs. A necessary preconditio

the development o alternative income options was their align

with the non-destructive, sel-sustaining and autonomous eth

the Timbira people.

A partnership to develop local livelihoods

A scoping review o the region, conducted by the Cente

Indigenous Work, revealed widespread economic stagna

and marginalization amongst small-holders and indige

communties in the rural areas o northern Tocantins and sout

Maranhão – employment and income insecurity; lack o acce

basic services such as healthcare, education and transportation

all the standard indicators o poverty and low living standards.

Background and Context



55

t was agreed that, in light o the deepening socioeconomic and

nvironmental exploitation o the Cerrado and the similarity o

xperiences and challenges aced by small-holders and indigenous

ommunities, any alternative approach must have the twin

bjectives o reducing poverty and promoting the conservation and

ustainable use o the region’s rich biodiversity.

hese early discussions resulted in the launch o a ‘Fruits o the

Cerrado’ project, which eventually developed to become FrutaSãndustry,Trade and Export Ltd. FrutaSã is a conservation business

enture which creates income or small-hold armers through the

ustainable extraction, marketing and sale o non-timber orest

roducts, particularly native ruit pulp. The organization has a

alanced ownership model, whereby hal the company capital is

eld by the Wyty-Cate Association and the other hal by the Center

or Indigenous Work. The venture is operated by the indigenous

ssociation. An early challenge or the enterprise was not access

o native products – as there is an abundance o marketable ruits

pecies in the Cerrado, including bacuri ( platonia insignis), bacaba

oenocarpus bacaba), buriti (mauritia fexuosa), caja ruit (spondias

utea), murici (birsonimia crassifora) and guava ( psidium arrack ) – but

he gap between local indigenous knowledge and eective business

development and management. For this reason, equal emp

was placed on conservation and business development.

FrutaSã was conceived with the intention o connecting

groups o target beneciaries – the indigenous people o sout

Maranhão and northern Tocantins on the one hand, and the sm

hold arming amilies surrounding indigenous lands on the o

The end goal was a partnership and business model based on

sustainable harvesting o native ruits. FrutaSã has successcreated twelve local producer groups, which eed harvested na

ruit into a value-adding, secondary processing supply chain.

FrutaSã also established a ruit pulp actory, which serves

processing centre and clearing house or ruit harvested

collected by small-holders and indigenous people. This allow

local population to generate income to meet the basic consump

needs o their amilies, while simultaneously protecting the reg

biodiversity. By closing the gap on the supply chain between

producers and the market, and by providing value-adding, secon

processing or a previously undervalued and underutilized reso

FrutaSã has helped to mitigate deorestation in the region.

“Enterprises following a solidarity economy model directly and purposefully integrate marginalize

segments of the population that do not have the technical or educational qualifications to rai

their income level by conventional means of urban employment. Their only alternative source

income still lies in the agricultural sector, the only sector they are familiar with.”

José Costa Ayres Junior, FrutaSã



6

Key Activities and Innovations

A rst step in the evolution o this joint venture was to undertake

rapid, participatory rural assessment to ormally explore the

conomic and commercial potential o locally-available natural

esources in the communities o the Serra da Mesa region. Based on

he ndings o this assessment, a develop plan or the use o natural

esources and agro-extractive activities in the region was drated

with a strong emphasis on ruit production. The objective was then

our-old:

To produce and distribute the seedlings o native and exotic

ruit species to local communities;

. To populate productive areas with ruit trees to enable and

enhance the participation o local indigenous communities in aruit pulp supply chain;

i. To disseminate knowledge on agro-extractive practices to

participating communities, emphasizing local ownership and

the application o traditional knowledge; and

v. To organize the production and marketing o Cerrado ruit

products, ensuring that proper incentives were in place.

Facilitating collective action

he very rst challenge in the FrutaSã approach was to create a

model o joint production which would bring together socially and

thnically diverse groups, all with dierent technical capacities and

xpertise. This challenge was perhaps overshadowed by the acthat FrutaSã was one o the rst organizations o its kind, designed

o saeguard the survival o the Timbira people’s culture and identity

hrough sustainable business. It was a common commitment to the

eense o the Cerrado environment and the Timbira territory that

ltimately acilitated the ormation o producers associations and

heir integration into a ormal network overseen by FrutaSã. Another

actor that allowed the business to evolve, and bolstered community

olidarity, was that FrutaSã oered a sustainable income generation

model that did not rely (at least primarily) on state support or

xternal donations. The business was based on a sel-sustaining

and autonomous economic activity, one which drew heavil

local indigenous knowledge and locally-available natural resou

that were undervalued in local markets. The independence

sel-suciency were empowering, and ostered a shared identi

which collective action could be based.

A purchasing policy that promotes stability

Another actor contributing to the community solidarity w

underpins the FrutaSã business model is a purchasing policy b

on long-term agreements. Compared to other companies in the

production supply chain, FrutaSã oers slightly lower prices pe

o ruit, but guarantees the purchase o the entire harvest rom producers. Other buyers oer prices between ten and 15 per

higher, but also have predetermined ruit quotas. Once these qu

are reached, their relationships with local producers end. FrutaS

the other hand, develops purchasing policies with local produce

buy all o their produce. This approach ultimately provides loca



7

roducers with greater certainty that there will be a buyer or their

roduce, and removes the uncertainty o inconsistent demands

nd fuctuations in the market. FrutaSã employs an outreach ocer

who travels to small-hold arms, establishing relationships with local

uppliers and drawing up contracts to cement this arrangement.

rutaSã is engaged in an ongoing cycle o local monitoring, outreach

nd evaluation. With each new crop o native ruit production,

epresentatives o the organization travel to rural communities toxplore the potential o the coming harvest, secure ruit purchasing

ontracts, buy ruit, and oster and maintain the relationships that

make the supply chain possible. Through this process, FrutaSã

s also able to obtain up-to-date inormation on the state o the

orest, mapping burning and clear-cutting and documenting rainall

atterns, and to undertake ongoing needs assessments o producer

amilies. This inormation is then stored in a centralized database,

where it can be processed and analyzed to inorm FrutaSã priorities

nd action areas.

Transorming the local market

ince it oundation, the business has ostered an appetite in the

market or locally-produced native ruits. While these same varieties

ruit were widely available in the past, small armers did not have

a consistent market or a coordinating entity to prioritize their n

and interests. This shit has altered both the local economy and

ruit production supply chain. In the case o bacuri, the price pa

local producers (per thousand units) increased rom BRL 40 (Braz

reais) in 2001 to BRL 120 in 2006. Cajá, a ruit that previously se

as low-value ood or cattle, was transormed into a market

high-value commodity. FrutaSã activities have had similar e

in commercializing locally-produced araca guava, tamarind, m

and juçara.

The organization has also been active in providing local prod

organizations (the suppliers) with guidelines on best pra

in hygiene, harvesting and storage. In addition to making

produce more marketable by establishing production stand

this guidance has served to signicantly reduce loss o produce

to rotting, ungi and insects. In the case o cajá ruit, or exam

local producers have been trained to clean the ground beneath

trees and to lay out a ground buer o tarps or straw mats to cus

the ruit when it alls, and to reduce contamination associ

with soil contact during the rainy season. Similar training has b

provided to local bacuri producers, who have been supporte

the construction o hand-built protective ‘ruit tree balconies’, w

allow armers to pack picked ruit immediately, avoiding d

contact with the ground.

“Once environmentally sustainable businesses are supported to reach their full potential – an

active support from government and many stakeholders is absolutely essential – these economie

can achieve comparatively high gains and have a reduced impact on the environment”




8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

ew regions in Brazil, with the exception o the Atlantic Forest, have

experienced worse environmental degradation or decline rom land

onversion and deorestation than the Cerrado. Mining, intensive

and use or grain and soy cultivation, logging, livestock rearing, and

ow-tech, short-sighted development projects have been the norm

n the Cerrado since the 1970s. These development choices had

devastating impacts on the region’s biodiversity.

The region covering the south o Maranhão and northern Tocantins,

nd containing the highest concentration o native ruit trees such

s bacuri, hog plum, palm, juçara, bacaba, and pequi, is in highdemand by agribusinesses or land conversion or monocultures,

notably soy. Land conversion and the steady incursion o paved

oads and transportation inrastructure have caused widespread

deorestation. Smallholders are being orced to sell their land, which

has had distressing impacts on traditional amily arms, local incomes

nd local biodiversity. The removal o vegetation and orest cover

or monoculture plantations has cause soil erosion, the siltation o

ivers, and ground water contamination rom the use o pesticides

nd chemical ertilizers. As habitats are lost, endemic animal species

re becoming threatened and endangered.

ncentivizing the protection o biodiversity

rutaSã has managed to have a considerable impact on biodiversity

n the Cerrado by promoting the sustainable cultivation o native

ruit trees, and the conservation o the agro-ecosystems in which

hey grow. Many o the primary drivers o deorestation in the region

have been mitigated since the project began. Clear-cutting in areas

hat hold ruit trees has been reduced signicantly and orest res

nd annual burnings in these same ecosystems have reduced

drastically. These changes coincide with major developments in

Brazilian orest laws and stepping up o orest law enorcement, but

he reorientation o the local economy to properly value native ruit

trees has complemented this and urther incentivizes the prote

o standing orests and healthy orest ecosystems. Where slash

burn agriculture was previously quite common during perio

drought, in order to renew pasture lands or a second season,

producers are now more concerned with protecting ruit-be

areas.

Beyond being a source o local ood security, and beyond

value to the local economy, ruit trees are also an essential li

the natural ood chain. The local orests, in which over 58 sp

o known ruit trees native to the Cerrado are cultivated, hou

unique abundance and diversity o fora and auna. A numb

endangered and threatened species’ habitats have been proteas a result o reduced deorestation. Among the species regu

encountered by local armers are armadillos, deer, paca (cuni

paca), agouti (dasyprocta azarae), jaguar ( panthera onca) and

maned wol (chrysocyon brachyurus).

The conservation and reorestation o ruit-bearing trees typ

ound in the orest foodplains – cajá, juçara and buriti –

ensures the protection o alluvial sites that are essential or hea

unctioning ecosystems. Planting ruit trees enables the small-

medium-sized tributaries o the Tocantins River to provide

water year round by serving as a riparian buer. This practice

come under threat in recent years with the allocation o lan

eucalyptus plantations and wood pulp production. Eucalyptussoy plantations require a disproportionate amount o water,

oten lead to the draining o food plains. FrutaSã has been act

advocating or the protection o ruit-bearing tree areas.

In those areas containing bacuri and cajá trees, where pos

biodiversity impacts are clearly visible, it is clear that protec

orests and planting native tree species makes good business s

Not only does it enable ongoing economic activity, but it

acilitates the provision o ecosystem services that are essent

local wellbeing.



SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

Economic activity in the region has been dominated in recent

decades by livestock rearing and large-scale monocultures such as

oy beans. Large-scale commercial interests have also shaped the

ocal and regional economy through extractive industries such as

mining and logging. Neither monocultures nor large-scale extractive

ndustries are the economic domain o smallholders or indigenous

communities, but their presence and ultimate predominance havehad major implications or local livelihood options, incomes, land

enure and economic and environmental security. First and oremost,

mallholders in the region have been tempted, or even coerced, into

elling their property to these larger scale interests. Economically

marginalized armers with ew livelihood options are oten orced to

ell their land to make ends meet. Without access to the mechanized

ools o modern agriculture, it is dicult to compete in the market

or cash crops.

FrutaSã has tapped into a market gap that empowers small-scale

armers to retain their land and engage in a sustainable income

generating activity that draws rom local knowledge and widely

available, low-input natural resources. The business has created a

market or the ruits which make excellent raw materials or juice,

ce cream, oils, sweets, cakes and more. Buriti, or example, is used

ocally or its oil and pulp and is used to make dough or cakes and

weets. Bacaba pulp is used or juices and four, while murici and

assai are used to make juices and ice creams.

Through a comprehensive easibility study, FrutaSã determined that

he sustainable harvesting o these ruits on a local scale had very high

potential or positive environmental and developmental impacts.

Tapping this market, however, was dependent on inormation and

knowledge dissemination amongst local armers, and eective

communication o the economic, social and environmentalncentives. To assist in this, FrutaSã has helped mobilize twelve

ocal producer organizations, which link local armers and promote

ustainable ruit harvesting activities across the region.

People-centered business

By purchasing raw materials rom local armers or the production

o ruit pulp, FrutaSã has created a development alternative or

he local and indigenous population o the Cerrado. Participating

communities receive an income, as well as support and advice on

ustainable extraction techniques, ruit processing and storage,

and youth involvement and leadership. More than 300 amilies

are now actively involved in sustainable harvesting activities. Thencreased number o communities sustainably harvesting ruit has

not only resulted in increased incomes, but also provided or local

ood security. Furthermore, with economic security and a viable

ivelihood alternative, these small-hold armers have been able to

emain on their lands, and together orm a corridor o protected

ndigenous territory.

FrutaSã ollows a business model that is heavily infuenced by the

Solidarity Economy (Economia Solidária) movement, which has

grown in popularity since the 1980s. The movement emphasizes

ghting social inequalities and poverty by allowing all mem

o a community to participate in the equitable sharing o ben

that arise rom a socially or environmentally sustainable busi

As such, FrutaSã is not singularly ocused on prot margins

is committed to having a positive impact on the lives o over

amilies that comprise its primary beneciaries.

FrutaSã is committed not only to paying local producers air

consistent prices or harvested ruit, but also to establishing lasrelationships built on trust, condence and security. The Fru

purchasing policy o long-term agreements – the guaran

purchase o an entire harvest rom local producers, as oppose

the industry standard o purchase quotas – provides local produ

with greater certainty that the ruits o their labor will have a ma

reduces levels o waste and ruit loss during the production pro

and guarantees stable and consistent incomes or participa

communities.

An equally important socioeconomic impact, and the ounda

o the FrutaSã model, has been the transormation o the ma

supply chain or ruit in a way that has both empowered

producers and added value to a previously undervalued reso

Several o the ruit types that are now sourced through FrutaSã

widely in local ecosystems, but did not previously have a mark

a demand. FrutaSã has successully generated a market or ruit

was previously undervalued (such as bacuri), and in some cas

demand or ruit that was entirely disregarded previously (as

been the case with cajá). A typical amily with ve members can

up to USD 1,875.00 in one bacuri harvest, which requires rough

days o labor. This is a substantial increase in income or amilies

otherwise traditionally relied on cattle arming.

POLICY IMPACTSFrutaSã has been active in advocating or policy changes to be

local and indigenous communities and the local environmen

one example o its leadership in this space, FrutaSã led call

the establishment o a National Park in southern Maranhão.

extensive lobbying eorts with other partners, the 160,000 hec

Chapada das Mesas National Park was established in 2005.

Additionally, FrutaSã played an important role in the lau

and coordination o an ultimately unsuccessul ght against

construction o a hydro-electric dam in Estreito. The organiza

assumed a role in community mobilization, and alerted

local population to the risks and environmental impacts development project posed. In the wake o the fooding cause

the hydroelectric plant, and presumably in recognition o Frut

advocacy eorts, the group was cited by the Ministry o Environ

as being an essential agent in repairing the damage suered i

ruit-bearing areas. The aected area included a region holding

highest concentration o bacuri trees.

9



10

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYrutaSã is the largest manuacturer o native ruit pulp in Maranhão,

nd is one o the ew enterprises o its kind in Brazil that is owned and

perated by indigenous people. Consumers are aware that FrutaSã

roducts are made rom raw materials sourced rom small-scale

armers and indigenous communities. This dierentiates its products

n the market and gives it an identity unique and distinguishable

rom other ruit pulp brands. Social and environmental responsibility

s a pillar o the brand’s resonance and staying power. Thereore,

ven with higher ruit purchasing costs than other companies,

rutaSã has been able to remain nancially sustainable and attract

normed and concerned consumers into its market share. The basicule ollowed by FrutaSã is that total ruit acquisition costs must not

xceed 30 per cent o the retail price o the pulp. This has allowed

rutaSã to pay suppliers higher purchasing costs, while still working

with a comortable prot margin.

he sustainability o FrutaSã’s business model has ocially been

ecognized in recent years, with the organization awarded the

Chico Mendes Award or ‘Sustainable Business o the Year’ in 2004

nd the ‘Sustainable Business Award’ rom the Brazilian Business

Council or Sustainable Development in 2007. These awards can

e seen as recognition o the project’s importance as a promoter

a dierentiated development approach that prioritizes local and

ndigenous community needs as well as environmental conservation.

REPLICATION

ince its establishment, FrutaSã has been able to share its business

model, and the ingredients o its successul implementation, with

wide variety o groups, not only across Maranhão and Tocantins,

ut in other states such as Minas Gerais, Pará and Piaui. FrutaSã has

osted a number o site visits by dierent indigenous communities

nd arming groups, each time sharing their experiences with the

ntention o replicating elements o the project in other communities.

The Center or Indigenous Work – one o the ounding par

o FrutaSã – has also launched a project in collaboration with

Inter-American Development Bank to consolidate and streng

the supply chain o native ruit trees across Carolina in Maran

This initiative will directly benet more than 300 amilies, and

be based on the model o local ruit producers that is advan

by FrutaSã. Technical assistance, guidance, distribution o

seedlings, and mentoring will serve to create new produc

groups, which will ultimately be consolidated into cooperativ

the end o the project.

Beyond direct peer-to-peer exchanges and site visits, FrutaSã act

participates in discussion orums and inormation exchangeshare its business model. One o the many networks to w

the organization contributes is the Araguaia-Tocantins Solid

Marketing Network, which coordinates the activities o se

solidarity groups in the region. FrutaSã is also a ounding mem

o the Second Degree Cooperative o Central do Cerrado, whi

situated within the Brasilia based Institute or Society, Popula

and Nature, a ederation that coordinates more than 50 produc

groups, associations and cooperatives in ten Cerrado states.

PARTNERS

“Investments in enterprises that follow th solidarity economy model need enough time

mature. It is only when maturity is achieved th

their positive impacts on a regional economy a

greater than that of many large-scale businesse

which are often favored by governments. ”




1111

While FrutaSã receives support rom a number o dierent partners,

hree organizations are directly involved in the company.

Wyty-Cate Association was ounded in 1994 and ocially registered

n 1996. It brings together 16 villages: New Waterall, Bacuri and Red

iver (Krahô), San Jose, Patizal, Buriti Fullled, Silver and Cocalinho

Apinajé), St. Joseph and Root (Krikati); Governor, Rubiaceae and

iachinho (Hawk-Pukobyê) Little Pigs (Shin-Apaniekra) and Escalvado

Cinnamon Rãkokamekrá). Since its oundation, the organizationas been actively involved in the coordination o activities around

he conservation and sustainable use o biodiversity in the Cerrado

nd in developing local income-generating projects. It also provides

ocial and economic mapping or local communities to develop

ailored conservation and livelihood solutions. The organization also

as a department o education that works with participating villages

nd organizes training courses or teachers (essentially a train-the-

rainers program). Operations o FrutaSã are supported and directed

y the Wyty-Cate Association. The association also represents the

imbira people at the level o national negotiations and policy input

o ensure adequate representation o indigenous communities.

he second primary partner, the Center or Indigenous Work, is

non-prot NGO ounded in 1979 which coordinates support

nd technical assistance to indigenous communities in the region

the Cerrado. Interventions and assistance are decided upon

ased on direct consultations with participating indigenous

ommunities. So in addition to being project beneciaries,

indigenous communities are also the authors and architect

environmental and developmental solutions. The scope o e

project is based on indigenous community demands, which

communicated through project coordinators. The operating eth

sel-management and the strengthening o indigenous associat

so that they can manage their own projects. The organizatio

also actively involved in educating local indigenous commun

o their rights, particularly in relation to land tenure. In additio

the undamental support and guidance provided to FrutaSã, oproject interventions have included support or schools (eight in

villages o Krahô, Kanela, Hawk-and-Apãnjekra, and Pykobjê),

inrastructure development, drating o toolkits and instructi

materials and training o indigenous teachers.

The third key partner in delivering the FrutaSã project is

Association o Agro-Extraction Small Producers o Carolina, w

was ounded in 1996. The association aims to mobilize and ad

small producers to conserve biodiversity in the Cerrado, and to

ull advantage o the sustainable extractive potential o regi

natural resources. It is through this association that FrutaSã

been able to register over 300 small producer amilies and esta

and maintain close partnerships with them. The association

oversees a central ruit tree nursery, located in the city o Caro

This nursery is absolutely essential to the ongoing unctioning

success o FrutaSã, as seedlings are distributed to local produ

The pulp o ruit produced by these trees is the basis o Fru

products.



Equator Initiative

Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 646 781-4023

www.equatorinitiative.org

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating or change

onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.

The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati

o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.

©2012 by Equator Initiative

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FURTHER REFERENCE

De Carvalho, I. S. H., and Silveira, O. Junior. 2006. Uma Análise do Empreendimento Frutasã (Carolina-MA, Brasil) à Luz da Economia Solid

De Carvalho, I. S. H. 2006. Desenvolvimento e Gestão Ambiental para Assentamentos Rurais no Cerrado. Mestrando no Centro de De

volvimento Sustentável (CDS), Universidade de Brasília (UnB), e Pesquisador Associado ao Instituto Sociedade, População e Natu

(ISPN). equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/2008winners/Frutasa/29418.pd

http://http//www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348260928.pdf

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163266.pdf

http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161830.pdf

Case Studies UNDP: FRUTASA INDUSTRY, TRADE AND EXPORT LTD, Brazil

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