At a Glance
Location: Pará, Brazil
Impact Areas: Suppliers, Employment, Income Generation
People Supported:
Indigenous communities, Settler communities, Quilombola communities, Women
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2023
Overview
Cooperativa Mista dos Povos e Comunidades Tradicionais da Calha Norte (“COOPAFLORA”) was created in 2019 to represent collecting families from the various Indigenous, Quilombola, and settler territories in the Calha Norte of the Brazilian Amazon. In an area where illegal felling, logging, and mining threatens the standing forest, COOPAFLORA is dedicated to upholding the livelihoods of traditional communities and protecting the forested lands upon which they depend for sustenance. It strives to strengthen the union of different ethnic groups in defense of their territories and promote the sustainable collection of forest-sourced products.
Today, COOPAFLORA supports 28 traditional communities, where families tend to live in small, isolated villages, have little access to health, education, and sanitation services, and rely primarily on the collection of forest products and family agriculture for their income and livelihood. The cooperative currently has a positive impact on the lives of more than 1,200 individuals directly and indirectly, 30% of whom are women.
The cooperative works with collecting families, ensuring they receive fair prices, to source non-timber forest-sourced products – products harvested for human use without cutting trees down. These include powdered pepper and tonka beans (also known as cumaru seeds), which are used in cooking as a substitute for vanilla, and essential oils used in cosmetics and skincare, such as copaiba oil and andiroba oil – valued for their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The latter are sold to clients in the personal care industry, such as Beraca and LUSH, tapping into a growing demand for beauty products made using natural, organic ingredients.
COOPAFLORA also collects Amazon nuts, an ancestral practice among the traditional communities. The cooperative holds long-term contracts with large companies, including Wickbold and Mutran, and guarantees demand and decent prices for local collecting families amidst a fluctuating market. In 2022, the cooperative broke its Amazon nut harvest record, selling a total of 77 tons of hectoliters and supporting approximately 100 families.
COOPAFLORA is certified by Origins Brasil – a network that promotes sustainable business in the Amazon in priority areas of conservation, guaranteeing origin, transparency, and traceability of the production chain. Based on data from Origens Brasil, COOPAFLORA works with traditional communities to sustainably collect from and conserve 4.1 million hectares of protected areas under land management plans, which ensure the sustainable use, conservation, and development of the forest and its natural resources, and help to prevent illegal activities.
Results & Impact
46
cooperative members receiving income
420
Indigenous suppliers currently supported
40%
Indigenous women suppliers supported by 2025
“Through the sustainable collection and sale of non-timber products such as cumaru seeds, Amazon nuts and copaiba oil, COOPAFLORA is working to preserve the Amazon rainforest and strengthen its bioeconomy. Members of the cooperative can access much higher returns on the produce grown in our communities, which has raised our standard of living – housing has improved, meals have become more nutritious, and local families are enjoying an enhanced quality of life. COOPAFLORA is much more than a cooperative, it is a driving force that empowers us and fills us with hope for a sustainable, prosperous future.”
NESsT Investment
COOPAFLORA generates income for hundreds of Amazonian families and supports the conservation of large protected areas of forest, with great potential to increase its social and environmental impact.
With access to working capital as part of NESsT’s investment, COOPAFLORA will expand its Amazon nut and andiroba oil value chains with the goal of increasing sales with clients, leading to increased earnings for local collecting families. The cooperative will support producers with logistics and tools, and guarantee the advance purchase of their stock to meet client needs outside of harvesting seasons.
As part of NESsT’s acceleration portfolio, COOPAFLORA will focus on strategies to expand its customer base, above all for retail products, which have added value on the market and can be sold at higher prices. To do so, COOPAFLORA will explore online sales channels and participate in trade fairs in Brazil’s largest cities, with a view to establishing new partnerships with commercial representatives and building its presence as a producer of sustainably sourced Amazon products.
NESsT will also provide COOPAFLORA with business assistance to enhance the cooperative’s organizational and entrepreneurship capacities. Training in financial management for its board of directors and cooperative members will aim to improve production processes, among others, and ultimately generate greater income for the traditional communities COOPAFLORA supports.