Babassu breakers improve production, but live with threats

At 5:30 am, the reading begins. Basket on his head, ax and machete in his hands. It takes willingness to enter the middle of the forest in search of babassu palm trees.

In the routine of at least 500 women, in 25 groups, who live in the Bico do Papagaio region, in the north of Tocantins, the search for the fruit, which guarantees the sustenance of their families, includes joint walks, joint efforts, songs and tradition. They needed to improve their day-to-day organization in the face of fears of violence, deforestation, pesticides and, also, climate change.

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A symbol of the reorganization was the operation, starting this month, of a warehouse in the city of São Miguel do Tocantins (TO) to process babassu products, the result of family farming. On site, the fruit mesocarp is crushed and transformed into flour. The workers also take the coconut to transform it into oil and olive oil. The product is produced and sold in stores such as sales and fairs, by the workers themselves.

“I break coconuts all day”

The products receive the label of the Regional Association of Rural Workers of Bico do Papagaio, the entity to which they are linked. The workers share the profit from these products. “I break coconuts all day long. I roast it, take out the oil, make the soap. The warehouse improves our lives. In addition to processing our product, processing, packaging, packaging, marketing, providing our family income”, says the association's coordinator, farmer Maria do Socorro Teixeira Lima, 72 years old, resident of the municipality of Praia Norte (TO).

“I’ve been breaking coconuts since I was seven years old. There are many years of tricks.” Today, he guarantees, children don't go to the forest. They have to worry about studying and playing.

She hopes that the workers will rely on policies such as the National School Meal Program (PNAE) and the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) to be able to sell the product to schools in the region and transform this regional food into snacks for children. “This is our dream. Our warehouse will be very important for this.”

“Dying standing up”

Maria do Socorro understands that, among the problems that the workers witness, is the use of pesticides by landowners in the region. “Palm trees are dying standing. Another problem is that, with the devastation of the forest, the trees are becoming increasingly distant,” she explains.

An achievement that the workers celebrate is the Free Babaçu Law (Law No. 9,159/2008) which, in 2023, completed 15 years.

The legislation provides for the protection of palm trees in the state of Tocantins. Piauí, Maranhão and Mato Grosso have similar rules. “From babaçu, we take the charcoal that we cook our food with and we sell it to buy other things. We take the oil that makes soap, wash our clothes and season our food. We take the babassu flakes for the flour. We also take the milk that seasons our food. We need to join hands and continue fighting so that our babaçu remains standing.”

Farmer Raimunda Gomes, who died in 2018, gained international attention by seeking visibility for workers and was one of the main people responsible for approving the law that protects workers and palm trees. read more,

Resources

For the warehouse to function, there were investments from entities such as the Center for Alternative Agriculture of the North of Minas Gerais (CAA), DGM Brasil, Alternative for Small Agriculture in Tocantins (Apa-TO), Amazon Fund, World Bank, Climate Investment Funds ( CIF) and CERES Cerrado Resiliente Project. The revitalization of the space and the purchase of machinery required an investment of more than R$250,000.

“By having access to a regularized location with health surveillance, they not only guarantee the quality and safety of the products, but also open doors to new markets”, explained Selma Yuki Ishii, director of the Alternative for Small Agriculture in Tocantins (APA- TO).

For coconut breaker Rozeny Batista Alexandre, 46 years old, from Axixá do Tocantins (TO), the warehouse was a dream come true because it now receives greater approval for trade. “It was with coconuts that we raised and educated our children. We work to put healthy food on the table.”

She, who has worked with the product since she was a child, explains that the majority of workers do not have their own land. “We use coconuts on other people’s land. That's when the owner allows it. Because many of us have suffered attacks. But the law protects us to extract the coconut.”

Offseason

As a child, Rozeny remembers, babassu was only for consumption at home. “I broke it during the day, went to the grocery store at night and exchanged it for rent. At that time, it was just coconut and coal. He used straw to make the mat and cover the house. Today we have other babassu derivatives.”

Climate change alters production in the cerrado. But, normally, from the end of December until April the off-season takes place. “It starts to fall from May to October. We collect coconuts in the bush.” The workers wash the fruit, remove the skin and the dough. The product is dried and crushed. “We call the palm tree mother. It has a lifespan of 50 to 80 years. From the age of 30, the curl begins to diminish. Therefore, we need to treat it well.” The worker boasts that the products have become popular among vegans. “It has a lot of fiber, is a diuretic and aphrodisiac. It’s just good.”

The farmer says that it is cultural in the region that the majority of people who work with babassu coconuts are women. “It is a tradition for the husband to go to the fields and the wife to babassu. “We suffered as children by breaking coconuts. But I said I didn’t want my son to go through what I went through.”

As a member of the association, Rozeny explains that working together means there is collective collaboration and no one feels alone in the forest. “It’s very difficult to break alone. We sit in a circle and sing while breaking the coconut with the axe. We dream of being able to buy a machine to improve this.”

Another dream, of retirement, came true through cooperative work. Workers are advised to pay INSS. When I was younger, I wanted to study and speak at Amazon National Radiowho accompanied her while wal
king in the forest.

“I wanted to have been a journalist. Write about my community. But my parents were enslaved. They only worked to eat. Today I am an accounting technician and have several courses, including roots studies.” The situation improved and it was discovered that the root of the work was the size of a babassu palm tree.