Marie Luz lives in the Boca Parimanu native community and goes each year to harvest Brazil nuts with her sons. This short documentary talks about her life as a brazil nut gatherer.
Brazil nuts are native to a small region of Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. They are trees that tower in the jungle canopy, rising over 40m. They survive and produce well only in intact rainforest. Forming an important part of the economy and jungle ecosystem, the protection of Brazil nut trees has become Peruvian law. Now gatherers work in Brazil nut concessions where management of the forest falls on the concessionaires. In this system people live in close connection with the jungle, hopefully maintaining forest cover in favor of promoting a good harvest. Now new opportunities are arising as producers find ways to make secondary products like oils and chocolates, or by joining together to process the nuts locally and secure a good sale price.
The purchase of quality Brazil nuts is one of several good "small-scale" consumer actions any single person can do to help support intact rainforests and sustainable economic activities. While there are still several obstacles to overcome in order to make this a sustainable alternative, awareness is growing that Brazil nuts are a viable way to feed the future, and keep the jungle culture and jungle ecosystem thriving.
A special thank you to the Native Community of Boca Parimanu, the Canto Luz Center for Conservation & Cultural Preservation, the lumber loading crew at Puerto Arturo, and Marie Luz and her 3 sons, who were patient, kind and gave the best jungle hospitality while we filmed on location.
This documentary was filmed by Cassandra Caroline & Juan Zuniga. It was produced, edited and subtitled by Cassandra Caroline.