Ongoing
Buriti of the Sertões of Minas
Strengthens the buriti value chain in northern Minas Gerais by training extractivists and promoting sustainable management to expand the commercialization of Cerrado fruits.
Location
Location
Community
Currently, agro-extractive families in the Cerrado of northern Minas Gerais live in rural areas, in municipalities with low HDI, highly peripheral to large urban centers, and with low income. Most extractivists are women who cultivate small land plots and must complement their activities with extractivism on third-party lands and/or by adopting conservation practices on their own properties for ecosystem regeneration and restoration. However, many conservation practices in the northern Cerrado are still underutilized due to lack of incentives, awareness, and fair commercial valuation.
The project directly benefits approximately 600 family farmers and extractivists engaged in the sustainable harvesting of Cerrado fruits, particularly buriti. Indirectly, over 1,000 families involved in the work of the Cooperativa Grande Sertão will also benefit from project actions.
Species
Buriti (Mauritia flexuosa)
A native palm of the Cerrado and Amazon, also known as miriti, palmeira-do-brejo, moriche, carangucha and aguaje. It grows naturally in permanently flooded areas such as wetlands and veredas. All parts of the plant can be used, and its fruit is one of the richest sources of vitamin A in the world.
Before harvest season, collectors walk through buriti groves to count and record the number of fruit clusters, estimating production potential. At this stage, they may also open small trails linking fruiting trees, making collection and transportation easier during harvest.
Ripe fruits are collected after they fall naturally, since cutting clusters directly from the palm is more time-consuming, risky, and often said to reduce productivity in the following harvest.
Activities
Strengthen the structure and promotion of the Cooperative
Meetings with universities and local partners to design strategies for implementation and dissemination, as well as technical exchanges to build new commercial partnerships for Cerrado products.
Invest in sustainable practices and product traceability
Technical visits to communities for Family registration, socio-economic and environmental data collection, and mapping of buriti groves with GPS coordinates to ensure product traceability. The training activities promoted knowledge exchange on best practices for sustainable management, seedling production, and processing techniques.
Promote agro-industrial qualification and quality management of buriti products
Adaptation of an 82 m² space within the buriti oil extraction facility to comply with municipal sanitary regulations (VISA), ensuring a legal processing unit for buriti derivatives. Equipment upgrades and technical procedures improved both nutritional and sanitary quality of buriti-based products.
Study and characterization of the buriti value chain for potential Geographical Indication (GI) registration
Research and surveys were conducted to characterize the buriti value chain, supporting a potential GI registration to enhance reputation, identity and commercial value of buriti products from northern Minas Gerais.
Impact
50
extractivist communities in the Cerrado fruit value chain benefited
10%
increase in Cerrado products delivered and marketed by the cooperative
400
hectares mapped to monitor conservation and identify new sustainable management strategies for buriti
200
extractivists trained in sustainable production and territorial management
1
GI registration request submitted for buriti from northern Minas Gerais
1
manual/protocol for sustainable buriti extractivism developed
Grupo Boticário
One of the largest beauty groups in the world, Grupo Boticário is a Brazilian company present in 50 countries. It owns the brands O Boticário, Eudora, Quem Disse, Berenice?, BeautyBox, Vult, O.u.i, Dr. JONES, Truss and the online marketplace Beleza na Web. The group also works with licensed brands such as Australian Gold and has a B2B division. Its ecosystem includes franchisees, distributors, retailers, sellers, suppliers, and digital business solutions (Mooz, Casa Magalhães, GAVB). Grupo Boticário has over 15,000 employees and more than 4,000 stores across 1,780 Brazilian cities.
Cooperativa Grande Sertão
Founded in 2003, the cooperative promotes the production and commercialization of semi-arid products following agroecological principles. Its activities aim to improve the quality of life of its members and consumers while conserving the environment. Grande Sertão currently involves around 200 communities across 30 municipalities, and continues to expand.
VBIO.eco
A bioeconomy platform that enables biodiversity valorization projects in Brazil. With a multidisciplinary team and over 12 years of experience in project management and corporate communication, VBIO.eco has supported 23 biodiversity projects and built a network of more than 500 organizations and companies engaged in socio-environmental causes.