Brazil nuts: a source of income and an environmental opportunity

It remains difficult to find a source of income in the Amazon in Bolivia, which is why many local communities resort to deforestation to make a living. However, the harvesting of Brazil nuts are a promising option for people and the environment.

The Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) grows on one of the Amazon’s oldest tree species. Due to the complex biology of these trees, which are several hundred years old, they cannot grow outside the Amazon rain forest. Brazil nuts currently represent 75% of the economic activity in Bolivia’s Amazon region, making it a vital source of income for indigenous populations and an incentive to protect the forest.

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Eximcruz and support for local communities

Eximcruz is a company that helps local communities sell the Brazil nuts they’ve picked. The organization plays a vital social and environmental role by providing indigenous communities with a fair income while contributing to the conservation of the Amazon’s ecosystem. Eximcruz is involved in multiple activities throughout the Brazil nut value chain.

• Eximcruz buys from associations and co-operatives. It guarantees a minimum purchase price for pickers and, because of its fair-trade certification, it also pays a bonus for each kilogram picked. During our field visit, the pickers confirmed that they received a better price from Eximcruz. This allows them to save more money to deal with unforeseen circumstances and to improve their family’s quality of life.
• When working in the forest, the pickers face multiple threats, including the risk of injury and illness. Pickers therefore receive training to learn about the possible risks and the ways to address them.
• Eximcruz employs hundreds of local women in its processing and packaging plant. This stable income allows them to feed their families, to upgrade their homes and to send their children to school.

Alterfin’s financing

In 2017, Alterfin decided to support Eximcruz’s growth by providing loans, becoming its second international lender:

“Alterfin has been very helpful in promoting socio-economic development in our area, creating more direct and indirect jobs. Its support has enabled us to increase our capacity to purchase raw materials to meet growing demand for our product. In turn, this has led to an increased income for our indigenous pickers.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, unlike other lenders, Alterfin continued to provide financing under the same conditions to help Eximcruz deal with the difficulties caused by this crisis:

“Thanks to Alterfin’s speedy decision-making and disbursement, Eximcruz was able to continue its activities and support the pickers and the staff in its processing plants.”

Listening to Eximcruz and its beneficiaries to confirm ourimpact

To confirm our strategy,we carried out an in-depth study of our role as a social investor andEximcruz’s socio-economic impact on its beneficiaries. We spoke with Eximcruz’steam and conducted 100 interviews, both with pickers and with women working at theprocessing plant. These interviews confirm that Alterfin continues to play amajor role in the world of impact investment. Want to know all about it? Read the case study in our annual report: