内容摘要：What was once a gathering to commemorate the Ashaninka has evolved into a showcase of what they have done: the village’s self-sufficiency, which comes from growing crops and protecting its forest, is now a model for an ambitious project to help 12 Indigenous territories in western Amazon, amounting to 640,000 hectares (1.6 million acres), about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware.

What was once a gathering to commemorate the Ashaninka has evolved into a showcase of what they have done: the village’s self-sufficiency, which comes from growing crops and protecting its forest, is now a model for an ambitious project to help 12 Indigenous territories in western Amazon, amounting to 640,000 hectares (1.6 million acres), about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware.

Kamato Ashaninka from Peru reacts to hitting the bullseye in a bow and arrow competition during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)Kamato Ashaninka from Peru reacts to hitting the bullseye in a bow and arrow competition during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Ashaninka Indigenous women participate in tug-of-war during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)Ashaninka Indigenous women participate in tug-of-war during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)Ashaninka Indigenous people from Brazil and Peru dance and sing at dawn during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Ashaninka Indigenous people from Brazil and Peru dance and sing at dawn during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)What was once a gathering to commemorate the Ashaninka has evolved into a showcase of what they have done: the village’s self-sufficiency, which comes from growing crops and protecting its forest, is now a model for an ambitious project to help 12 Indigenous territories in western Amazon, amounting to 640,000 hectares (1.6 million acres), about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware.

In November, the Organization of Indigenous People of the Jurua River, known by the Portuguese acronym OPIRJ, secured $6.8 million in support from the Amazon Fund, the world’s largest initiative to combat rainforest deforestation. With Apiwtxa as the model, the grant is geared toward improving Indigenous land management with an emphasis on food production, cultural strengthening and forest surveillance.

“We are expanding everything that we did at Apiwxta to an entire region,” said Ashaninka and OPIRJ leader Francisco Piyãko, speaking in front of his home in Apiwtxa. “This is not only about implementing a project. What is at stake is cultural change. This is essential to protect life, the territory and its peoples.”People work in a coffee farm near Nzara, South Sudan on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

People work in a coffee farm near Nzara, South Sudan on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)Many were familiar with excelsa, but didn’t realize how unique it was, or what it was called, referring to it as the big tree, typically taller than the arabica and robusta species that are usually pruned to be bush- or hedge-like. The excelsa trees can reach 15 meters (about 49 feet) in height, but may also be pruned much shorter for ease of harvesting.

Coffee made from excelsa tastes sweet — unlike robusta — with notes of chocolate, dark fruits and hazelnut. It’s more similar to arabica, but generally less bitter and may have less body.“There’s so little known about this coffee, that we feel at the forefront to trying to unravel it and we’re learning every day,” said Ian Paterson, managing director of Equatoria Teak, a sustainable agro-forestry company that’s been operating in the country for more than a decade.