Acai grows on palm trees found from Brazil to Central America.
The project will organize acai pulp producers and pickers into a network to collect kernels, seeking to establish a commercially viable, sustainable and inclusive biomass production business and reduce the pollution caused by the illegal disposal of fruit waste in Para.
The network will deliver the kernels to VBA-Acai, a company that will process the fruit waste into pellets.
VBA-Açai is a subsidiary of World Wide Recycling, a Netherlands-based group recognized for its sustainable waste treatment model.
The project will provide technical assistance and training to waste collection cooperatives, as well as design a logistics plan that includes establishing waste collection stations and organizing transportation of the material to VBA-Acai.
The project will generate new income opportunities for 2,400 pulp producers and 360 waste pickers.
The project will be executed by VAR do Brasil Ambiental, a non-profit created by VBA-Acai, a Brazilian subsidiary of Netherlands-based World Wide Recycling, and Dutch development cooperation organization ICCO.