Managing Institution: Cooperative of Small-Scale Agroextractivist Producers of Lago do Junco – COPPALJ

The project will be carried out over 18 months and aims to strengthen the babassu coconut production chain in the Médio Mearim region, in the state of Maranhão. The focus of the work will be on ensuring a supply of contaminant-free raw material (almonds) for the production of babassu coconut oil by the Cooperative of Small-Scale Agroextractivist Producers of Lago do Junco.

The project aims to enhance the knowledge of babassu coconut-breaking families by expanding their understanding of best practices for the sustainable management, conservation, and processing of babassu. The babassu occurrence areas within the 6 Reference and Agroecological Technology Dissemination Units (URITAs, the acronym in Portuguese) will serve as practical laboratories.
Additionally, the project will focus on improving pasture management in babassu occurrence areas within the URITAs. This includes optimizing pasture use and area management through the implementation of paddocks, reducing the environmental impact of extensive livestock trampling, and promoting sustainable cattle farming that coexists harmoniously with babassu extractivism.