AFIMAD: The story of a venture and the self-sustainability of indigenous peoples in Madre de Dios
© Yawar Films / WWF US
Sixteen years ago, a group of indigenous community members from Madre de Dios decided to invest in their collective well-being. Led by Martín Huaypuna, they obtained personal loans to set up a company dedicated to the collection and marketing of Brazil nuts. This initiative offers hope to the inhabitants of the indigenous communities to organize themselves in a sustainable productive activity that would confront the illegal logging and mining that was already affecting the area.
With the support of WWF Peru and other allies, they were able to formalize in 2009 as the Madre de Dios Indigenous Forestry Association (AFIMAD) and became part of the technical branch of the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and its Affluents (FENAMAD).
This small business, at the beginning, did not have any technical assistance to learn about the ideal technical process for storing, the correct way to dry or harvest and at the same time conserve the brazil nut trees. With each passing harvest and the technical support they received, their harvesting and production system became more specialized and in 2010 they obtained organic and fair trade certification and signed their first contract with a national company, Candela Perú.
In this way, AFIMAD positioned itself in the local market and in 2020 made its first individual export, taking its product to international markets such as the United States and Europe. This economic activity allows 200 families from the native communities of Sonene, Palma Real, Puerto Arturo, Boca Pariamanu, Monte Salvado and Puerto Nuevo, of the Yine, Ese Eja, Amahuaca and Shipibo indigenous peoples, to improve their income from the collection and sale of Brazil nuts, contributing to their food security.
An important point to highlight is that the harvest coincides with the return to school, so this economic activity is one of the main sources of income for the purchase of school supplies and becomes a family activity that activates all the inhabitants of the communities involved.
© Yawar Films / WWF US
During the last few years AFIMAD has encouraged the participation of indigenous women and recognizes their leadership; they are part of the productive activities and seek complementary activities such as tourism, agriculture and handicrafts. As a result of this effort, in 2018 Nadia Pacaya Grifa becomes the first president woman of the association's board of directors and in 2023 for the first time the board of directors is made up entirely of women. "It is a time of change, it is important that we women bring our vision of organization and family approach to entrepreneurship" highlights Emily Urquía Sebastián current president of AFIMAD.
Although the Brazil nut is AFIMAD's star product, over the years, and due to a series of external factors such as climate change, international conflicts and the internal situation, the various Boards of Directors of the Association have reflected that "... you can't put all your eggs in one basket", according to Emily, so they have begun to look for other alternative resources whose use will allow them to continue generating income in a sustainable and complementary way.
© Yawar Films / WWF US
In this context, the use of huicungo (Astrocaryum murumuru) became an option. Because it is a resource that comes from a native palm tree, it grows in the communities and is valued as an input for the creation of cosmetics. To add this product to their offer, this year they obtained the first huicungo management plan in the region.
However, Brazil nuts continue to be their star activity. To increase its value, they created a processing plant that, in addition to the dehydrated or shelled fruit, will allow them to market by-products such as Brazil nut oil and flour.
"Throughout these 15 years, this venture has given us a new alternative to improve our quality of life, today we have brothers who have specialized in the university to contribute more to the initiative, we created a space in Puerto Maldonado where young people from the community can come and stay to finish their university studies, the communities have learned to work in an organized manner and have other complementary activities such as craft houses and tourism services. AFIMAD allows the sustainability of the indigenous communities of Madre de Dios". Martín Huaypuna, AFIMAD's commercial manager, says.
AFIMAD is a clear example that the ancestral economic activities of indigenous peoples allow them to sustain themselves, strengthen their sovereignty, improve their food security, and revalue their resources. They are also a way to encourage the new indigenous generations in business models that allow them to positively impact their quality of life and at the same time safeguard their territories and resources.
Over the past 15 years, 29,000 hectares of forest have been sustainably harvested and have contributed to the protection of biodiversity in the Bahuaja Sonene National Park, the Tambopata National Reserve and the area of influence of the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve. Without a doubt, this is a sustainable enterprise with export quality whose protagonists are the indigenous peoples.
© Yawar Films / WWF US