why people endanger themselves to harvest Acai

harvesting acai is a dangerous job in

brazil

workers climb thin palm trees deep in

the amazon rainforest

new

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these berries have become one of the

most popular so-called superfoods in the

u.s

and they aren't cheap

one bowl can cost up to 15 dollars

and while the berry has exploded in

popularity in recent decades small farms

like this haven't really been able to

cash in

a community

to this day most acai in brazil is

harvested by families on small-scale

farms

but big plantations are on the rise

putting pressure on families like lucas

nogueiras and a way of life that goes

back generations

so how did this amazonian fruit become

so trendy and what is the true cost for

the people who have been harvesting it

for generations

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we met lucas at the end of the 2021

harvest but there were still some

berries left on a few trees

his family's farm is roughly 70 miles

from balang the capital of the state of

para which grows more than 90 percent of

the acai produced in brazil

the only tool they use to climb is a

single piece of rope called a peconia

they used to be made of leaves

today lucas's son louise fernando will

go up

what should we do

the trunks are so thin that climbers

have to be lightweight

hey

at the top they swing from the tree to

reach multiple bunches

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going down can be dangerous too

especially while carrying a large knife

and holding an arm full of branches

dropping them could damage the fragile

fruit

number

and the risks don't end at the climb as

if i mentioned chanda and this is nasa

zarya

cobra

lucas and his family harvested 53

baskets like these in 2021 earning them

an income of about 950

that's as little as 20 cents per pound

meanwhile a pound of processed acai

sorbet can sell for seven dollars or

more in the us

part of the issue is that lucas has to

sell his acai as soon as possible

because the fruit goes bad fast that

leaves farmers who don't have processing

machines with little leverage to

negotiate

it's a race against the clock to sell

the fruit before it spoils so markets

run

overnight the price of the baskets

varies every day depending on the demand

most of the acai produced in the state

stays in brazil but exports have

skyrocketed growing about 14 000 between

2011 and 2020

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transported to processing facilities

like north acai

every day 22 tons of fruit are turned

into frozen pulp the acai that most

people outside of pera are familiar with

this is the stage where we see the

biggest jump in price about a hundred

and seventy seven percent

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today more than 70 of brazil's acai

exports end up in the states

present the global market for acai is

expected to reach nearly 2.1 billion

dollars by the end of 2025

acai's popularity took off in other

brazilian states in the 1980s when it

became part of workout culture in rio

and sao paulo the bulls made regular

appearances in this popular 90s soap

opera that took place at a gym

its high calorie content made it a

perfect pre or post exercise food

and its antioxidants made it easy to

brand a superfood that came with claims

that it can solve all sorts of health

issues like obesity type 2 diabetes

coronary heart disease strokes

hypertension

high risk for coping 19

cognitive difficulties

sexual difficulties but nutritionists

say this narrative has been blown out of

proportion wait a minute one food can't

do that can it no of course not

nonetheless americans were hooked and

made all kinds of acai bowls mixing in

fruit granola honey and more

but it's a far cry from the culture of

the people who have eaten it for much

longer

indigenous people living in the amazon

have harvested and consumed acai for

centuries maybe even millennia and it's

still a staple food in the daily diet of

people in pera who eat it fresh with

savory meals

lucas was 12 when he started climbing

acai trees and he still does 36 years

later

in recent years acai has also made

headlines in american and brazilian

media for reports of children working in

the industry but farmers like lucas say

it's always been this way and that it's

normal for everyone in the family to

help out and learn the trade

nowadays lucas owns this land along with

55 other families

these kinds of settlements are called

kilombos or a kilumbola community and

many go back centuries

they were established by enslaved

africans and afro-descendants who ran

away into the jungle and started

communities like this to survive

many learned from indigenous people how

to harvest and process native foods

including acai

the brazilian government estimates there

are nearly 6 000 kilomola communities in

the country

in a 2013 study found roughly 75 percent

still lived in extreme poverty

lucas's acai trees grow alongside

different native trees and plants

but larger monoculture plantations that

produce more fruit are on the rise the

amount of land used for these

plantations has more than tripled since

two thousand six

these plantations are often located far

away from floodplains where acai trees

naturally thrive that means big

producers have to irrigate their acai

trees while farmers like lucas rely on

natural seasonal flooding from the

nearby river

some small producers have also been

favoring acai trees over others which

could become an issue in the long run

and experts worry that as acai's

popularity continues to grow the

cultural traditions of pura and the

amazon could be lost