DOLLARS FROM SCENTS: PRESERVING THE RAINFOREST
The Amazon rainforest is home to the oldest and largest variety of plants and animal species on earth. Yet logging, mining and exhaustive farming is destoying this abundant enviroment. What's more, local inhabitants are at risk of losing their knowledge of the jungle's rich resources. On Brazil's Silves Island, a group of women are working to preserve their culture and produce eco-friendly forest products. They call themselves the Green Life Association of Amazonia (AVIVE). In less than three years, more than one hundred women have had the chance to earn a steady income and respect their precious ecosystem. From the Macacarecuria tree, the women harvest giant seed pods, which they turn into candle holders. Local Peshury trees, prized for their dyes, are grown and replanted in the most devastated places. And in another village, women gather wild melon leaves to make a traditional soap used to treat dermatitis. Thanks to careful use of the forest's resources, the future of the Amazon and its people is growing more secure.
(NEWSWEEK)
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