ACCIAC Project: Tracking the Brazil Nut Cate Berenato and Caitlin Crawford

Transcription

1 I. Executive Summary ACCIAC Project: Tracking the Brazil Nut Cate Berenato and Caitlin Crawford This project was designed and carried out by three Wake Forest University students and one student from The College of William and Mary. The location of the research project was Puerto Maldonado, Peru. The students conducted research for the benefit of the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) located in Puerto Maldonado. While one aspect on the project dealt with a biological analysis of juvenile trees on Brazil nut concessions, the recipients of the ACCIAC grant performed a series of interviews with local Brazil nut harvesters. Through the use of semi-structured inductive interviews, the students assessed the efficacy of the Amazon Conservation Association s Brazil nut program, and its affect on the well-being of the Brazil nut harvesters the program aids. Students interviewed 10 harvesters in a control group, and 15 harvesters who receive ACA aid. II. Overview of the Project After spending the summer of 2009 in South America, we recognized the importance of the region s numerous natural resources, and the importance of their preservation. To formulate a research project, we contacted Dr. Silman of the Biology department due to his extensive research in Peru, and his affiliation with the Amazon Conservation Association. Board members of the Amazon Conservation Association, or the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica, decided together that their work could be supplemented by a study evaluating the efficacy of the Brazil nut program. This research opportunity particularly interested us, because it required and permitted us to interact with the local community of Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Though biological research focusing on the Brazil nut trees is useful and necessary, we were particularly inspired by the prospect of conducting a sociological study. This sort of research would allow us to directly impact a group of Brazil nut harvesters with whom we would become personally acquainted. The goal of this research project was to assess the efficacy of ACA s Brazil nut program. ACA s primary interest is to conserve and protect the Amazon rain forest. They promote Brazil nut harvesting as an occupation, because it conserves Brazil nut trees and surrounding flora and fauna. Our particular project intended to assess whether or not Brazil nut harvesting increased the well-being of the harvesters. This is necessary to evaluate, because harvesters will not continue in this occupation, unless they perceive that Brazil nut harvesting provides greater benefits to themselves and their families than other destructive occupations. Through semi-structured inductive interviews, we assessed well being based on three facets: the harvesters access to health care, education, and their general perception of their welfare. As ACA reaches the end of the Brazil nut program s initial inception, the organization is faced with deciding which portions of this program they should continue to support, and how long the program should continue before the harvesters are self sufficient.

2 We intended our research to provide ACA with a first-hand perspective of their Brazil nut program from the standpoint of the harvesters. In this way, ACA can decide which of their methods are most beneficial to the lives of the harvesters, as well as to the organization s conservation efforts in the region. III. Location and Methodology There are only three countries in the world which naturally contain commercial, sustainable stands of Brazil nut trees: Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. In Peru, these trees grow only in the Eastern Amazon region of the country. ACA s Brazil nut program is located in Puerto Maldonado, a small city in south-eastern Peru on the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers. Groups of Brazil nut trees are divided by the Peruvian government into concessions, which are tracts of land which (supposedly) contain a similar number of Brazil nut trees. ACA s program is therefore located in the nearest city to where most of these concessions are located. Our methodology focused on obtaining honest and in-depth information from the harvesters. Therefore, we chose the interview method as the most effective way to obtain our data. We felt the interview method would give us two advantages over other methods, such as a survey. First, it would allow us to establish rapport with our subjects, which we felt would increase the honesty of our responses. Second, the interview method would allow us to adopt a semi-structured format so we could learn more about aspects of Brazil nut harvesting that we may not have previously understood. For example, in our interviews, our method allowed us to learn about the importance of the ACA radio station and publications. We were previously unaware of their importance, and the interview method allowed us to gain this information. During our interview process, we used a digital voice recorder to record our interviews. We also took notes during the interview in order to gain most of the information immediately and transfer it to a hard copy. We used the recordings as a backup for when a portion of an interview was unclear. Because the harvesters had little to no education, and spoke with strong regional dialects, recording a reviewing the interviews was essential to insure the validity of our results. We conducted our interviews in three locations: the ACA office in the city, on various Brazil nut concessions nearby, and at other government agencies. To ensure that we included a control group in our research, we interviewed harvesters who were ACA beneficiaries, as well as harvesters without the support of ACA. We conducted most of our ACA interviews at the organization s office in Puerto Maldonado, as harvesters frequented the office to apply for aid and receive help filling out necessary government paperwork. We conducted non-aca beneficiary interviews at local processing plants and at other governmental agencies, where harvesters went for similar reasons. We discovered that in order to extract useful data from interviews, we needed to tailor our questions. This process occurred within the first week, with the help of an ACA economist who focused on the Brazil nut program. Initial interviews also provided us with the means to determine the relevancy of certain questions, and indicated the need for additional questions. IV. Summary of Results

3 ACCA BENEFICIARIES ANSWERS The number on the right of each colon indicates the number of corresponding responses. Many times a harvester would provide more than one answer to a question, in which case we recorded both answers. This is why the number of responses often exceeds the number of interviewees. We used 10 interviews of non-aca harvesters, and 15 ACA harvester interviews. The last facet (Additional Questions) includes more answers from interviews that we considered incomplete for the completion of other facets. Facet 1: Health 1. Current Health Service: Hospital: 11 Health Center: 7 Natural Remedies/Local Healers: 3 2. Health Service Prior to ACCA Aid Not Changed: 14 Less time traveled b/c bought motorcycle with money made after ACCA aid: 1 3. Frequency medical assistance is sought/hospital visits per yer: Rarely: 8 Occasionally (2-3 times/year): 4 Frequently: 2 4. Cost of medical assistance/method of payment: Pays Out of Pocket: 15 Insurance: 6 5. Changes in time/distance of travel since ACCA involvement: Less Time/Shorter Distance: 10 No Change: 6 6. Rating of Health Services: 5:3 3: 4 2:2 0:2 Facet 2: Education 1. Year of education: No Formal Education: 1 Some Primary: 4 Finished Primary: 6

4 Some Secondary: 3 Finished Secondary: 2 2. Other institutions used? : Only ACCA: 9 Rainforest Alliance: 2 Candela: 2 Other Organization: 4 3. Family member education during ACA involvement (quality, cost, distance): No Change: 3 Improvement: 4 Needs Improvement: 2 ACCA Workshops Helped Castaneros & Family w/ Harvesting Techniques: 4 4. Rating: 5: 8 4:3 3: 3 2:2 N/A: 1 Facet 3: Perception

5 1. Effectiveness of ACA services: Effective: 13 Depends on Service: 3 2. MOST HELPFUL ASPECTS TAUGHT BY ACCA: Workshop Coordination & Transportation: 6 Responds to Needs of Harvesters: 1 Care for Forest: 7 Equipment and Techniques: 22 Organic Certification: 8 Forms: 7 Brazil Nut Market and Production: 4 Generally Faster or Better Harvest: 5 First Aid: 3 3. ASPECTS OF ACA SERVICES THAT COULD BE IMPROVED: Communication: 5 Technical/Harvesting Skills: 7 Clearer Teaching Methods: 6 Help with Forms: 3 Harvest Education/Information: 3 Education (young people, agriculture): 2 Increase in Assistance: 3 Misc.: 3 4. Perception of income changes/months surviving on BN income: Increase: 13 Primarily use BN income: 2 No Change: 1 5. Alternative ways of gaining income: Agriculture: 4 Selling Forest Items: 4 Private Business: 3 Public Transportation (motorcycle, moto-taxi): 2 6. Perception of well-being in comparison to neighbors without ACCA support: Comparatively Better: 11

6 7. Rating: 5: 2 4: 5 3:2 Facet 4: Biology 1. Knowledge of BN tree growth from juvenile to adult since ACCA: Clearing around Trees: 3 Planting Techniques: 3 Care for Forest: 3 Encouraging Ecotourism: 1 Adult Tree Care: 1 Learned Nothing: 2 2. Number of flora and fauna change since ACCA: Increase: 11 No Change: 3 Decrease (one response due to highway and mining) : 2 3. Percent juvenile BN trees: 0%-15%: 4 16%-40%: 4 41%-69%: 0 70%-100%: 3 4. Influences of good/bad harvest: Animals Decrease Harvest: 3 Environmental Influences: 5 Economy/Price of Brazil Nut: 4 Good Drying Techniques: 2 Unpredictable: 1 Additional Questions 1. Use of ACCA publications: Yes: 12 No: 5 2. Use of Radio program, Shiwijaja:

7 Yes: 15 No: 3 NON ACCA Facet 1: Health 1. Current health service: Hospital: 4 Health Center: 4 Pharmacy (Farmacia): 2 Plants: 1 2. Frequency medical assistance is sought/hospital visits per year: Rarely: 6 Occasionally: 3 Frequently:1 3. Costs of medical assistance/method of payment: Pays out of pocket: 8 Insurance: 2 No Cost: 2 4. Changes in time/distance of travel: Less Time/Shorter Distance: 2 No Change: 4 More Time/Farther Distance: 1 5. Rating: 5:1 4: 1 3: 2 2: 2 0: 1 Facet 2: Education 1. Year of education: No Formal Education: 0 Some Primary: 3

8 Finished Primary: 3 Some Secondary: 3 Finished Secondary: 1 2. Level of improvement of Brazil nut harvester knowledge: Tree Health Knowledge: 3 Management Plan Understanding: 1 N/A: 5 Knowledge Increased: 1 3. Other institutions used: Heard of ACCA: 3 Rainforest Alliance: 3 Candela: 3 Other Organization: 3 None: 3 4. Family member education (quality, cost, distance): No Change: 0 Improvement: 6 Average: 2 Needs Improvement: 1 Facet 3: Perception 1. Perception of income changes/months surviving on BN income: Increase: 1 Good income: 1 2. Alternative ways of gaining income: Agriculture: 2 Selling Forest Items: 2 Private Business: 1 3. Interest in ACCA Aid Yes: 8 No, b/c restrictive: 1 4. Perception of well-being in comparison to neighbors: Better: 5 Equal: 3

9 Worse: 1 Facet 4: Biology 1. Number of flora and fauna change: No Change: 1 Increase: 4 2. Percent juvenile BN trees: 0%-15%: 0 16%-40%: 2 41%-69%: 3 70%-100%: 0 3. Influences of good/bad harvest: Environmental Influences: 6 Economy/Price of Brazil Nut: 1 Unpredictable: 3 Additional Questions 1. Use of ACCA publications: Yes: 5 No: 5 2. Use of Radio program, Shiwijaja: Yes: 6 No: 4 V. Conclusions Conclusions of Facet 1: Health After asking a series of questions regarding healthcare, we found that ACA aid has not significantly influenced access to healthcare. For example, the majority of ACA beneficiaries and non-aca harvesters pay out of pocket for their health services. This indicates that no direct aid has been provided regarding healthcare. ACA beneficiaries have not been able to use a potential increase in their income to cover the expenses associated with medical insurance. While the distance and time it takes to seek medical care has improved for both groups, this is due to the completion of a new intercontinental highway. One person, however, specifically indicated that the travel time has decreased

10 to seek medical aid, because they were able to buy a motorcycle with the increased income ACA services have yielded. While 27% percent of ACA beneficiaries rated their healthcare a 5 (on a 0-5 scale), only 14% of non-aca beneficiaries rated theirs a 5. This may indicate that while in an interview the harvesters are unable to directly connect their healthcare with the aid they receive from ACA, they are in general more satisfied with their position. That being said, however, a higher percentage of ACA beneficiaries rated their healthcare in the 0-2 range than their non-aca peers. In general, it is inconclusive if ACA s aid (in the form of increased income to harvesters) has directly affected their access to healthcare. The only indicators that lead us to believe that ACA does positively affect healthcare access are the specific examples that we received through interviews, such as the harvester s ability to purchase a motorcycle due to increased income. Conclusions of Facet 2: Education When comparing the education levels of our ACA and non-aca interviewees, similar percentages of ACA and non-aca harvesters completed the same amount of education. For example, 62% of ACA beneficiaries at least began primary school, while 60% of non-aca beneficiaries began primary school. Slightly more non-aca harvesters at least began secondary school than ACA harvesters. Of course education level has little to do with ACA aid, but this provided useful information regarding tailoring our questions to the average interviewee education level. The average interviewee did not understand concepts such as percentages or ratings. Because we wanted to evaluate how necessary specifically ACA s aid is to the harvesters, we asked the harvesters about their use of other institutions similar to ACA. 53% of ACA beneficiary answers indicated that only ACA aid was used. 24% of ACA answers indicated that harvesters used the prominent organizations called Rainforest Alliance and Candela. Similarly, 24% of ACA harvesters used other organizations. Non- ACA answers also specifically referenced ACA, Candela and Rainforest Alliance, among others. Among non-aca responses, there was an equal distribution among the previously mentioned organizations, as well as responses indicating no use of any organization. No organization was more or less represented in non-aca answers. To investigate particularly the education the harvesters receive from ACA programs, we asked what they would rate the training. 50% gave education the highest rating (5), while those providing lower ratings usually provided more comprehensive explanations as to why this rating was given. That being said, we received no ratings of 0 or 1, indicating that they are relatively pleased with the education ACA directly provides. Facet 3: Perception We designed the questions in our 3 rd facet to get a general feeling for how the harvesters viewed the ways in which ACA influenced their lives, and how the harvesters viewed their current position in life. First we asked if the ACA harvesters thought ACA services were effective or not. 13 of the 16 responses indicated that the harvesters did feel that the services were effective overall. 3 responses indicated that depending on the

11 services, some ACA services are effective. Here, it is easy to acknowledge that the vast majority of the responses viewed ACA services positively. When we asked specifically which services were the most helpful to the harvesters, we received numerous answers. The harvesters indicated that ACA s services that aid with harvesting equipment and harvesting techniques were the most beneficial. The harvesters mentioned these equipment and harvesting techniques 22 times. Next, the harvesters indicated that ACA s help with organic certification is very helpful. After organic certification aid, we received 5 or more responses that related to ACA s education on forest care and form completion. 5 or more responses also indicated that ACA aided the harvesters with workshop coordination and transportation, as well as with generally faster or better harvests overall. While we asked ACA harvesters which services they felt were the most beneficial, we also asked them which ACA services could be improved. We received 7 responses indicating that ACA could improve the education on technical and harvesting skills. 5 or more responses indicated that ACA could improve upon the clarity of their teaching methods and their communication. Though the most numerous responses to both questions (which ACA services are most beneficial and which could be improved) indicated harvesting equipment and techniques, this might be because while this service is the most overwhelmingly helpful to the harvesters, it is the service that should be given the most attention. While ACA should certainly continue this effective service, the harvesters can always further benefit from improvements and additions to this service. Next we asked both ACA harvesters and non-aca harvesters if they perceived an increase in their income after improving their harvesting skills (non ACA) or improving their harvesting skills with ACA aid. Because few of the non-aca participants understood our question, only one response indicated that the harvester perceived an increased income, and one harvester indicated that they received a stable income. However, 13 ACA responses indicated an increased income since ACA aid. Only 1 response indicated no change in income since ACA aid. Because we wanted to know if the harvesters found that it was necessary to supplement their Brazil nut harvesting income with additional occupations, we asked them if they had alternative ways of gaining an income. Both the non-aca harvesters and the ACA harvesters said that they gain additional income through agriculture and selling forest items. Though Brazil nut harvesting does provide a solid income, harvesters definitely find it necessary to seek other means of earning money. One question we asked only the non-aca participants was whether or not they were interested in receiving ACA aid. Of the 9 responses, 8 said yes and only 1 said no. The reason the one person said that they were not interested in ACA aid, is because ACA restricts their harvesters from doing certain things on the concessions. For example, ACA prohibits growing crops on the concessions, because this practice diminishes the rain forest. We asked both groups if they thought their overall well-being was better, worse, or the same as their neighbors or peers. All of the ACA harvesters that understood and answered the question said that they were comparatively better off than their neighbors. However, only 56% of the non-aca harvesters responded that they were better off than their peers. 33% said their well-being was equivalent to their neighbors, and 10% said

12 they were worse off than their peers. It can be concluded that harvesters working with ACA at least believe that they are better off than their peers. This can be directly attributed to ACA aid, because the only difference between ACA harvesters and non- ACA harvesters, of course, is their affiliation and connection with ACA. Finally, of the 9 ACA harvesters who rated their well being on a scale of 0-5, all 9 rated 3 and above. Biology: We added an additional Biology facet when we realized that a large part of understanding ACA s initiatives would be understanding their sustainability efforts and how much the Brazil nut harvesters understand this purpose themselves. We found through an overwhelming number of responses that they did in fact understand the importance of preserving the forest; they often cited wanting to improve upon or maintain their concession so that they could pass the knowledge and the capacity on to their children. The importance of clearing around the trees, implementing specific planting techniques and generally caring for the forest turned up in 70% of their responses when questioned about trees growth from juvenile to adult. Only 15% of responses indicate that nothing was learned regarding this. Additionally 68% saw a marked increase in the number of flora and fauna on their concession since their participation with ACA. It is speculated that this is due to a decrease in deforestation and illegal animal capture that can be necessary when Brazil nut income doesn t provide enough for a family to survive on. Only 13% had seen a marked decrease, and their responses indicated that this was due to the new highway cutting through or dividing their land, or due to what they perceived to be an increase in mining in the region. Anticipating that the number of juvenile trees would be an effective way to measure ACA s preservation efforts within the concession we asked harvesters to give their opinion regarding the number of juvenile trees within their concession. 72% indicated percentages under 50% but this is likely due to the nature of Brazil nut trees they do not produce fruit often until they are almost 30 year in age, thus it is sometimes difficult to take the time and effort to plant more when the current generation will not see a benefit. 27% indicated that they thought over 70% of their trees were juvenile; displaying that there are great initiatives that have been taken since ACA s involvement. No Non-ACA respondents indicated that they saw more than 70% juvenile trees, with all of their responses falling within the 16% -69% bracket. When questioned about what they felt influenced a good or a bad harvest 33% of ACA respondents indicated that uncontrollable environmental influence such as climate change had the greatest effect on their harvest. 26% vehemently referred to the economy and market price of their nut indicating that they do not measure a good or bad harvest in the production of the trees but of the income they receive from it. When discussing the production levels of trees in particular all responses indicated that every tree was different every year and that once every several years a tree would produce minimally if at all for a season. 60% of Non- ACA harvesters cited environmental influences for measuring a good or bad harvest and 30% also measured the unpredictability of the trees that ACA harvesters had also referenced. Only 10% of Non-ACA respondents referenced the economy or price of the Brazil nut being a large influencer, perhaps indicating the knowledge that participating in ACA had allowed their neighbors to realize.

13 Additional Questions: ACA publishes a series of booklets and papers that give tips to harvesters about harvesting techniques, safety precautions, and how to care for the forest, among other things. We asked both the ACA harvesters and the non-aca harvesters if they read these publications. 12 of the 17 ACA harvesters who responded said that they do read the publications, while only 5 said they do not. 5 of the 10 non-aca harvesters responded that they do read the publications, and 5 do not. ACA also produces a radio program for Brazil nut harvesters called Shiwijaja. This radio program gives tips like the booklets, but also updates harvesters on the state of the Brazil nut market, weather and season updates, prices of Brazil nuts, etc. 15 of the 18 ACA respondents indicated that they do listen to the radio program, while only 3 do not. 6 of the 10 non-aca recipients indicated that they listen to the program, while 4 do not. We would suggest that ACA continues to produce the radio program and the publications, because a vast majority of ACA harvesters utilize these resources, as well as a fair number of harvesters not affiliated with the organization. In fact, regarding the people who do not listen to the radio, several of the people who do not listen to it say that they would if they had access to a radio. VI. Significance to the broader field of inquiry Our experience and research opened up the door for future researchers or interns to be welcome in the Puerto Maldonado office of ACA. Due to its remote location it is not one of the more visited offices the surrounding city is hardly ever visited for more than a quick overnight before an eco-tour. Despite this we found the organization, city, and resources to be very accommodating and welcoming to our research. Being immersed here for an extended period enabled us to really reach out to the people in addition to studying the delicate ecosystem that is certainly a more popular subject. We hope that our visit inspires others to reach out to the Brazil nut harvesters in the Madre de Dios region; while most of them had little to no outside contact with students or researchers before our visit, by the end they were eager to share their wisdom. Future researchers could dig a little deeper into their lives and stories now that they have learned to trust outsiders more. Additionally our evaluation of ACA s Brazil nut program could easily be repeated on an annual or biannual basis to ensure that the program stays routed in its most beneficial aspects in terms of conservation but also in terms of aiding these people. This would be particularly helpful to ACA as an organization seeing as they hardly have the time or manpower to execute this type of research but really appreciate and respond to the results. Our research also can provide organizations similar to ACA with guidance on how to best promote sustainable livelihoods. Our research indicates what types of aid the recipients value the most. Relying on donations and grants to execute their projects, organizations are consistently trying to determine those that are most beneficial. Studies involving endangered species and widespread conservation generally generate more attention but Brazil nut harvesting is truly a sustainable practice that supports such a large percentage of the regional population. We hope that we can increase awareness and

14 generate support for these people so that they are not forced to turn to unsustainable practices to make ends meet. Continued research in this area could focus on how the harvesters could generate greater profits, work more efficiently, or develop their raw good into a finished product for exportation. VII. Script for 2 Minute Video Cate s Video Script: Hi, my name is Cate Berenato and I was a recipient of the ACC-IAC scholarship. After studying abroad in Peru in the Summer of 2009 with Dr. Silman and Dr. Wakild, I decided that I wanted to return to conduct independent research in the Peruvian Amazon. Together with two friends from Wake Forest, and a friend from William and Mary, I worked with the Amazon Conservation Association located in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Puerto Maldonado is located in the Amazon Basin and is a port city situated at the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers. Due to the city s location in the heart of the Amazon jungle and on the banks of the river, many locals make a living through illegal occupations, such as harvesting timber from endangered trees or hunting endangered wildlife. The Amazon Conservation Association s main goal is to conserve the rain forest. The organization promotes Brazil nut harvesting as one way to achieve this goal. Because Brazil nut harvesting requires the maintenance of the enormous Brazil nut trees and their surrounding flora and fauna, harvesters protect the forest contained within their concessions. While one of our research partners assessed the efficacy of the Amazon Conservation Association s Brazil nut program in regards to biological conservation, I assessed whether or not the program increased the well-being of Brazil nut harvesters. Through semi-structured inductive interviews with Brazil nut harvesters, I measured well being based on three facets: access to health, education, and the harvesters overall perception of their welfare. This research opportunity proved to be an outstanding experience, because I was able to interact with the locals in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, while increasing my understanding of the balance between humans and the environment that is necessary to achieve the conservation of some of the world s most valuable resources. Caitlin s Video Script: Hi, my name is Caitlin Crawford and I worked together with Cate on this great experience we were so lucky to have thanks to our ACC-IAC fellowship. My largest responsibility in our project involved translating our interviews into English from their sometimes challenging Spanish dialect. With this role I got to spend extensive time listening to what the harvesters had to say and what the mentors working with the Amazon Conservation Association had to offer them in terms of advice and education. They all provided great data for us about their education, access to healthcare, and perception of ACA as an organization, but what struck me the most in these conversations was the drastic differences between our lifestyles that always emerged no matter which facet we were discussing. Their relentless hope for better education for their

15 children, their respect and reverence for the forest, and their knowledge about jungle medicines was always mind blowing. While we witnessed deforestation, mining, illegal hunting and trapping among other sad, damaging practices, we immersed ourselves within the rainforest community and formed relationships with these harvesters so that they could confide in us about why they often had to turn to these measures. I found that it is easy to say, Don t deforest, when you re in the United States, but when you forge relationships with these people and realize they re doing it to buy medicine for their children, it provides another perspective. It certainly served as inspiration to us both to support organizations such as ACA that help these people support their families while protecting the rainforest. This opportunity was a life-changing experience that I am so grateful to have been given we will take lessons about both biodiversity and cultural diversity that we learned in the Amazon basin with us throughout our lives.

16 Brazil nuts drying on a dryer built by ACA for a concession in La Novia, Peru.

17 Two juvenile Brazil nut trees in a cleared area used for raising animals on a concession.

18 An employee of ACA testing a Brazil nut dryer on an ACA beneficiary s concession.

19 A Brazil nut tree rising above the other canopy trees, taken from the forest floor.

20 Brazil nut harvesters at a meeting in La Novia, discussing trying to develop their Brazil nuts into finished products such as oil or butter.

21 A graffiti depiction of a Brazil nut harvester found on a city wall in Puerto Maldonado.

22 Cate observing the fauna and flora of the region from an observation tower.

23 The rainforest approaching sunset.

24 Cate, Caitlin, and Katherine observing other trees in the area.

25 Research partner Andrew Squires of the College of William and Mary guiding us down the river.

26 Katherine and Caitlin interviewing a Brazil nut harvester.

27 Our research group beside a Brazil nut tree holding Brazil nut coco s which contain the Brazil nuts.