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COVID-19: the impact on gatherer communities in Bolivia

Jan 22, 2021

In the spring of last year, as Covid-19 began to reach every corner of the world, in Bolivia the government reacted relatively quickly, implementing tight restrictions including halting educational activities and closing borders in a bid to contain the spread. But even before the pandemic arrived, the country was facing an economic and political crisis after a recent failed election. Liberation works closely with two Associations in Bolivia for the supply of Brazil nuts: La Asociación Indígena de Recolectores de la Amazonía (AIRA) and Aire Muije.On top of the potential delay to the shipment of produce that our team was dealing in the UK, there was some much more serious news from the Latin American side. We were informed by the Associations´ Presidents that the virus had reached some of their most rural communities and many members had become infected. In fact, there were reported estimates of around 90% of people getting sick and estimates of over 500 people in these gatherer communities losing their lives due to the virus. The Brazil nut tree can only be found naturally in the Amazon rainforest and is proven to be very difficult to cultivate domestically. The global market relies heavily on crops harvested by gatherer communities and both Associations work directly with some of these Indigenous groups. Many of these families live on the outskirts of the Bolivian Amazon and during the harvest season in December often travel deep into the jungle to collect fallen Brazil nut pods from the rainforest floor to eventually be shipped across the world.Their skills, knowledge and understanding of the Amazon ecosystem and its geography...

A Year of Crisis, Protest and Resilience: India in 2020 – an overview with Tomy Mathews, Managing Director of Elements and FTAK cooperative member

Jan 12, 2021

Last year was a turbulent year for all. Almost everyone faced challenges, disruptions and loss in one form or another. For Liberation, a smallholder farmer-owned company, we were not only concerned with the goings-on within the UK but also across continents with our friends and colleagues in the cooperatives and producer countries we work closely with. India, one of the said countries, undoubtedly faced some incredibly tough moments. Not only did it have the second highest Covid-19 death rate in the world (after the U.S.A.) and a harsh and rapid lockdown that resulted in many facing desolation through the loss of earnings, but also there was the implementation of three farm acts (also described as ´anti-farmer´acts) which, according to many, would leave farmers “at the mercy of corporates” and resulted in mass protests across the country. Fair Trade Alliance Kerala (FTAK), in the southwestern part of India, is a collective of over 4,500 farmers who, amongst many other things, supply us with cashews. At the end of last year, we spoke to Tomy Mathews, Managing Director of Elements (exporter of FTAK cashews) and FTAK cooperative member, about the year that the coop and his country had endured. According to Tomy, 2020 started like all others with hectic preparation for the annual seed festival which takes place on the 3rd week of January and is one of the biggest events for the FTAK. Cashew started with a good crop and Covid-19 was nothing but a strange news story. But only a few months in, the virus reached India and by March the country went into a dramatic and hastily announced...