Recently, Imazon published a study that reveals a correlation between low social indicators (the study uses the IPS – Social Progress Index) and high rates of deforestation in the Amazon. The data is more than a mere statistic, it is a clear warning about the need for more studies and is yet another indication of the interconnection between environmental conservation and the well-being of people and society as a whole. The study reveals a
“(...) low social progress for the 28 million inhabitants living in the Amazon. The region continues to face serious problems of social progress, characterized by a general IPS (54.32) lower than Brazil's IPS (67.94). (...) From the beginning of the cycle of occupation of the Amazon based on deforestation in the 1970s to the present day, the social, economic and environmental results have been disastrous. In 2020, the Amazon contributed only about 9% of the national GDP while generating 52% of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions.”
The research highlights something that the Café Apuí Agroflorestal Initiative deeply understands. We are located in a territory where deforestation is a reality and, therefore, we see a unique opportunity to create positive changes through the bioeconomy. To change the environmental context, it is necessary to unite the social, economic and environmental aspects in a new model of sustainable development, like the one we have been operating in the Apuí region for 12 years.
Our agroforestry coffee is a response to environmental and social urgency. By uniting – in the same production chain – small local producers, forest conservation and promotion of sustainable practices, the Initiative proposes the construction of more than a coffee, a proposal for a more promising future. Apuí is one of the 89 cities (out of 772 in the Amazon) that are in the worst range of the IPS classification, with IPS 49.49, in position 704 out of 772 in the ranking.
We involve the local community, strengthening the production chain in the territory, offering small producers the chance to prosper with the guarantee of the sale of all agroforestry coffee produced and the future sale of carbon credits. This not only enables social development, but also strengthens the resilience of these communities and the entire local economy. With the recovery of degraded areas with agroforestry systems, partner families produce food between the lines of native trees and coffee, also contributing to their food security and family income, especially with the support of the organic certification that we offer, which adds value to your products.
This agroforestry model not only prevents deforestation, but contributes to the regeneration of areas that were degraded. It's a palpable commitment to environmental conservation, with each bag of coffee produced representing a step in the right direction. Local people are responsible, together with the Initiative, for ecosystem regeneration, conservation of native forests on their properties and prosper from this. Today, there are 115 families, 159 hectares of recovered areas and 7700 hectares of forests being conserved in the region. In 6 years, we have already purchased R$ 877,000.00 in agroforestry coffee, in addition to generating jobs throughout our coffee restoration and production chain, after all, our coffee only leaves Apuí ready for consumption by the end customer: processed, roasted and packed!
The Café Apuí Agroflorestal Initiative is not just about coffee, it is about educating, raising awareness and inspiring change. We want every consumer to understand that choosing a coffee can have lasting impacts, because the cup of coffee consumed is tied to a long chain of cultural behavioral changes that change the impact made from negative to positive.
“The Amazon has enormous potential for development without deforestation, mainly through increasing agricultural production in areas already deforested and improving the bioeconomy and payment for environmental services where the forest remains standing”, suggests the co-founder of Imazon and coordinator of the research, Beto Veríssimo.
The correlation between deforestation and social indicators should not be a sentence of condemnation. It needs to be a call to action. By walking with the first sustainable agroforestry coffee in the Brazilian Amazon and other products with a positive impact, consumers, investors, governments and companies choose a future in which the quality of life and the health of the planet go hand in hand.
Join this journey of transformation, one cup at a time! Discover Café Apuí Agroflorestal.
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