By Sara Leal*
Launched at COP30 in Belém, the mini-documentary “Açaí Nativo: Fruto da Amazônia” (Native Açaí: Fruit of the Amazon ) tells the stories of riverine extractivist communities on Jacaré Xingu Island, in Cametá (PA).
In the approximately 10-minute production, the river dwellers tell how they learned to extract açaí, the importance of the fruit for their diet, their livelihoods and how the food has become a regional identity.
“Açaí is more than just a food and a source of sustenance for those who make a living from its extraction – it is also tradition, culture and a pillar of the Amazonian socio-economy, valuing local knowledge and strengthening ways of life that integrate forest, people and economy,” says Sara Leal, director of the film and communications coordinator at IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute).
The production is part of the Sustainable Production Chains in Pará project, which produced qualified data on the cocoa and açaí chains to support strategies for socio-economic and environmental impact and for strengthening the socio-bio-economy in the state.
The project was carried out by IPAM in partnership with Sedap Pará (the State Secretariat for Agricultural and Fisheries Development), Mapa (the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock) and with support from AFD (the French Development Agency).
After its launch during the International Forum on Family Farming and Traditional Communities, held at Embrapa’s AgriZone, the mini-documentary is available on IPAM’s YouTube channel and can be watched in full here.