What was once considered waste was reused to become a hot and bitter drink, like coffee, in the extractive community of Povoado 1700
Transforming the açaí seed into powder to prepare a hot, bitter, aromatic drink, similar to coffee. This was the alternative that the extractivist families of the Km 1700 Village in the rural area of the municipality of Imperatriz, in Maranhão, found to find a destination for the residue of the Amazonian fruit.
The açaí seeds were left over after the fruit was harvested and processed, representing an environmental problem for the community, which has 300 families. The seeds were thrown on the street and became waste without proper disposal.
“We decided to roast it and saw that it made an excellent drink,” explains açaí extractor Elcilene Alencar, 41, a resident of the community and president of the Associação Agroextrativistas Familiares Solidários – an entity selected in a public notice PPP-ECOS Fund, from ISPN, with financing from the Amazon Fund, for the construction of an açaí processing agroindustry.
The residents got together and thought of a solution for this situation: washing, drying, and roasting the seeds, and finally straining the powder with water to create a preparation similar to coffee. “At first, the flavor wasn’t that good,” says the president of the association. But with each roasting, the açaí “coffee” got better.
Coffí: a new brand emerges
It was through a partnership between the village of 1700 and the Faculty of Imperatriz (MA), Facimp, that the aromatic drink took off: it received a name, brand and address. The population and especially women, who are on the front line of the process, received training in marketing and financial management.
This is what Klenne Lys, 24, a Chemical Engineering student and project coordinator at Facimp's Enactus Brasil organization, explained. According to her, when talking to residents and noticing the problems with waste, the university group, through the organization, identified that the community itself already had the solution: making “açaí coffee.”
“Since there were a lot of seeds, the community started using them for fertilizer, but also roasting them to make a drink,” explained Klenne. Realizing the possibilities of generating income through processing, the students took the “coffee” to laboratories and performed sensory analyses to discover the correct roasting point.
Thus, “Coffí” was created, which is not actually coffee, since it does not contain caffeine. However, it has a bitter taste and, when drunk hot, resembles the drink that is so popular around the world. The preparation process is similar: first the seed is washed, then dried and finally roasted.
Sold at fairs and stores that sell açaí, the powder can be found in two versions: extra strong or with brown sugar. “Every time I go to the community, I take a package home,” says the student. Currently, the product is only sold locally. The president of the Associação Agroextrativistas Familiares Solidários, Elcilene Alencar, says that the intention is to expand production to reach new markets in other regions.
Sustainable Extractivism
The acai (Euterpe oleracea), as it is a palm tree native to the region, is not planted by the community but rather managed – for about 30 years, according to Elcilene. The fruit is an important source of income for the local population and the extractive practice requires that the forest be preserved – since without the trees there is no fruit.
“This is what we are trying to promote: use of areas without deforestation, without changing land use, just extractivism,” comments Rodrigo Noleto, forestry engineer and coordinator of the Amazon Program at ISPN, who is following the project to strengthen the association and support the agro-industrialization of açaí drinks in the village.
With support from PPP-ECOS, the project began to be implemented in October 2022. It was then that the community saw the walls of the açaí house go up, with the house expected to be inaugurated at the end of 2023. The proposal is that the place be divided into two parts: one for processing the açaí to extract its pulp and the other for roasting the seed.
“ISPN brought the opportunity to transform a product, previously made by hand, into a product brought to the market”, highlighted student Klenne Lys from Facimp, adding that institutional support also contributes to the “feeling of appreciation among women for having one of their products recognized”.
About PPP-ECOS
O PPP-ECOS is a strategy to promote Ecosocial Productive Landscapes, through four pillars: access to resources, political articulation, community leadership and knowledge management.
The initiative has already supported more than 890 projects in the Cerrado, Caatinga and Amazon since 1994.
Learn more about the strategy by clicking here.
Text by ISPN/Camila Araujo Communications Advisory.
Cover photo: Personal Collection/Reproduction