| Amor America - Perfume from the Fruit of
the Palo Santo Tree
| An excellent source
of income for the poor people of the region |
For many years, the dry
forests of Zapotillo in southern Ecuador harbored a resource that
would offer an excellent source of income for the poor people of
the region. In 2007 and 2008, Nature and Culture assisted the communities
of Malvas, Chaquito, Paletillas de Malvas, and Totumos (80 families
in all), by developing a program to benefit from the fruit of the
Palo Santo tree. The local community members harvest the fruit in
a sustainable manner (collecting only 10% of the fruit from each
tree), and then in partnership with the Technical University of
Loja the essential oils of the fruit are extracted. These fragrant
oils are sold to Natura, a Brazilian cosmetics company that develops
fine perfumes for the international market, who then produces the
Amor America perfume, which is currently marketed in a number of
countries around the world.
In late 2008, NCI received a Certification of
Ecological Operation from the certifying company Ecocert for the
development and commercialization of the Palo Santo fruit. With
this achievement, we are guaranteeing that the environment will
not be contaminated, that the functionality of the dry forest will
not be affected, and that the people who live in these natural ecosystems
will benefit economically such that there will be an improvement
in their standard and quality of life. The Amor America perfume
is one more example of how we strive to protect threatened ecosystems
while simultaneously helping to improve the livelihood of local
community members.
Click
here to watch a video about the Amor America perfume
 
|
