Amazon Gatherers for the Future

Solution Pitch

The Problem

Wild açaí is a non-timber forest product that can become an alternative to help mitigate deforestation. Nevertheless, climate change has affected the rain seasons and harvesting cycles. Additionally, since roads are in a precarious state and communities are in remote areas, optimizing on-site activities is a priority.

The Solution

Amazon Gatherers for the Future aims to create a data-driven management system for a more productive, efficient, and sustainable wild açaí harvest. They are improving the designs of a harvesting machine (GPS incorporated) that facilitates the work of açaí harvesting and records relevant data to monitor this activity. The information collected will help study the correlations of production capacity with environmental variables such as landscape and climate, through a Geographic Information System that works along a big data analysis. This will help fill in the current information gaps on the natural production cycle and productive capacity of these palms. The insights will serve to provide feedback to communities on how to become more efficient and sustainable through smart harvest management.

Stats

• Once the solution is implemented, a key indicator of success will be the number of hectares of forest protected through forest management plans

Market Opportunity

Communities that directly rely on forest resources. In the initial stage, the scope of work will be the Colombian Amazon, but this solution has the potential to scale, adapt, and replicate the model in other contexts around the world. Amazon Gatherers for the Future is open to any knowledge transfer required.

Organization Highlights

• Corpocampo and the Amazon Conservation Team are now working together to confront deforestation in Putumayo, Colombian Amazon, by resorting to efficiency and adaptation within NTFP value chains.

• Within this same purpose, other important allies are (Partnerships For Forests (P4F), Corpoamazonia (national environmental authority in the Colombian Amazon), The Nature Conservancy, Universidad Nacional and Givepower.

Partnership Goals

Amazon Gatherers for the Future seeks:

• Expertise in mechanical engineering or mechatronics to make improvements in the designs of the  prototype

• Expertise in research design

• Designing branding and marketing strategy