Zola Brazilian Superfruits

The Amazon & the rainforests are the Lungs of the Planet. The local plant life creates 20% of the Earth’s oxygen through photosynthesis, there are an estimated 438,000 species of plants living inside the 1.2 billion acres of the Amazon Rainforests, and one in five of all the birds in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon. Yet, more than 20% of the Amazon Rainforest has already been destroyed, and the rate of destruction is accelerating – 20,000 square miles are vanishing each year, 3x the rate of 1994.

Zola is a proud supporter of biodiversity and sustainable harvesting. Growing Açaí allows the trees to be put to their highest and best use while locals make more money – a win-win for the environment and the local community!

Zola practices sustainable harvesting, which creates jobs in the Amazon and preserves the rainforest. Açaí grows at the top of the same palm trees that are cut down for “Hearts of Palm.” If a tree is cut down, it takes several years for that tree to grow back. However, the locals can actually make more money through sustainable harvesting of Açaí than they do cutting down the trees. For example, one hectare (2.471 acres) used as a cattle pasture will produce just $148 per year. Clear-cutting that same land for timber will produce 8x more or $1,000, but this is only a one-time gain. Sustainably harvesting that land for fruits like Açaí will produce almost 7x more! And it is a crop that regenerates year after year –that is sustainable!