Conservation Entrepreneurship/Kayapo

In the early 1990s, The Body Shop met a Kayapo village leader at a rally for indigenous peoples of Brazil. The Kayapo had a history of concessions to miners and loggers, but those lucrative endeavors were on rapid decline, so the Kayapo were in need of a new profit-making scheme (since, by now, they were accustomed to some modern accomodations, such as televisions, clothing, etc.). The Body Shop’s owners were committed to social, economic and ecological sustainability, and as part of their business, were dedicated to working with people in need. So, they conducted research for several months to determine if there were products the Kayapo could harvest sustainably. A scientist commissioned to conduct the survey determined that Brazil nut was a viable product for the area. Attempting to capture maximum profits for the community, The Body Shop discovered that the Kayapo could get more money for Brazil nut oil rather than the unshelled nuts. The Body Shop, then, put US $80,000 investment into the first year of production, which included the manual press the Kayapo would need to extract the oil from the nuts. They continued to front money for operations, since production didn’t result in any profits. They even introduced other endeavors, such as bracelet making, largely for women. This project failed, and it is unsure that the Brazil nut oil will succeed.