THE AMAZON KINGDOM OF PALM OIL
[Elinelson is a small farmer at a billion dollar industry.]
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by ©MiguelPinheiro - Brasil 2017
(all images are copyrighted and cannot be used without written permission)
[artigos / articles in the MEDIA]
_INTRO
Palm oil (also known as dendê oil in Portuguese) is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. We are at the gates of the Amazon Forest, in a territory larger than Germany, where an immense stretch of land is being used to massively grow this fruit, which both has edible and industrial uses.
The high oil yield of the palm trees has encouraged wider cultivation, leading to the clearing of forests in order to make space for oil-palm monoculture. Though providing jobs to the local communities, the long time social and environmental impact in native people and forest are still unpredictable. Meet Elinelson, a small farmer with big dreams...
O óleo de palma (também conhecido como óleo de dendê, em português) é um ingrediente culinário comum no cinturão tropical da África, sudeste da Ásia e partes do Brasil.Estamos numa das regiões de fronteira agrícola na Floresta no estado do Pará, um território maior que a Alemanha, onde grandes extensões de terra estão sendo usadas para o cultivo massivo desta fruta, que tem usos industriais e alimentares.O alto rendimento do óleo das palmeiras incentivou um cultivo mais amplo, levando ao desmatamento de florestas, a fim de abrir espaço para a monocultura do dendê. Apesar de oferecer empregos para as comunidades locais, o longo impacto social e ambiental nas pessoas e floresta nativa ainda é imprevisível. No vídeo apresentamos Elinelson, um pequeno agricultor que sonha em grande ...
Meet Elinelson... Our main character migrated to the forest in search of his own land, but the only choice for him at the beginning was to work at a charcoal factory, a truly tough job. After that he was able to find a job in the local Palm Oil facility, where he was employed for a couple of years. Nowadays he grows the palm fruit in his lands, and sell it to the local factory.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
It took nearly 5 years for Elinelson to be able to make his land fertile enough to sustain all the family.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
All decisions at the small farmers community are taken after long conversations. They need to secure credit from banks in order to invest in their lands, and then be able to grow and sell the palm oil fruit to the local industry. Money is not abundant, so group decisions can take several hours.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
Small farmers can produce palm oil fruits every month, though the quantity varies depending if they are on the rainy or dry season of the year. The small farmer above transports the fruits to a secondary road with the help of his horse. Later, a truck will collect it and take it to the nearby factory.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
The palm oil big companies are responsible for most of the great plantations, that are located in the vicinities of transformation complexes. There, the fruits are processed to yield the oil which is then sold internationally abroad to be refined.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
Maintenance at the palm oil factory.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
Toxic materials are used in several processes during the extraction of the oil. Some pollution incidents happened in past years, causing water and soil contamination, affecting the local rivers and impacting in communities.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
Communities can be quite isolated. With the arrival of industry, people got access to jobs, and they they now had a way to make money. With the money inflow they stopped using animals as a way to get around, and the motorcycle became the main mean of transportation.The roads though, still have a lot to improve.
[ Moju, Brazil ]
