After more than eight years of research and experiments, in November 24 th , Kaapi Ingredients first opened its essential oils’ distillation facility. The event was attended by authorities, members of IDAM (Institute for Sustainable Agricultural and Forestry Development of the State of Amazonas), IPAAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute), EMBRAPA (Brazilian Company of Farming), scientists and local peasants.
Eduardo Mattoso, researcher, founder of the project and head of Kaapi.
The distillery’s purpose is to produce essential oils from Rosewood, Aniba parviflora, Amazongrass and Priprioca, while protecting the forest and counting with the support of local farmers for the supply of raw materials. “We’re implementing a business model that respects the local environment and all peculiarities of the Amazon region. We’d like to encourage local farmers to learn about our project and become suppliers of raw material to the distillery. Besides generating income in a sustainable way, the initiative will bring new opportunities regarding the usage of the land, in addition to the traditional ones, like cattle raising and manioc cultivation”, noted the researcher, founder of the project and head of Kaapi, Eduardo Mattoso.
The whole endeavor is part of a bigger project, the recovery of Rosewood, a native tree mentioned on appendix II of the CITES list of threatened species. In 2013, the company carried out the first cultivation trials in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. Currently, there are about 25 thousand of trees, between 1 and 8 years old, spread over 17 hectares. “The biggest challenge so far was to understand and meet the plant needs outside the forest, which is its natural environment. When we first start cultivating a plant, especially a tree, things can get really tricky.”
Distillery’s production capacity of essential oils
Currently, the distillery can process 300 tons of plant material per year. This number can be easily increased up to 5 times, according to the market conditions and the involvement of the local community.
Besides rosewood, the company will encourage farmers to cultivate other oil-producing species, with the support of the Institute for Agricultural Development of the State of Amazonas (IDAM). The support of IDAM is crucial, since it facilitates the access to local farmers, offers technical knowledge about cultivation and sustainability and contributes to the goals of the initiative.
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Eduardo Mattoso, Professor Lauro Barata and Sergio Souza.
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Eduardo Mattoso and Sergio Souza
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Kaapi Ingredients first opened its essential oils’ distillation facility
From extinction to plantation
The production of Rosewood essential oil in the State of Amazonas had its height in the mid-20th century, with distilleries installed throughout the Madeira and the medium Amazonas rivers. However, the unbridled exploitation set the species as threatened with extinction at IBAMA – Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources – in the beginning of 90’s, and at CITES – International Convention on Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna – in 2010.
Lauro Barata, Professor in the Natural Products Chemistry Laboratory at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp).
In this scenario, Brazilian researches sought alternatives methods to achieve a sustainable production of rosewood essential oil and keep the remaining centuries-old native trees living in the forest. Lauro Barata, Professor in the Natural Products Chemistry Laboratory at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), was one of these pioneers. At the invitation of the NGO Pro-Natura, Barata conducted a project for the optimization of the extraction of rosewood essential oil from leaves and branches, resulting in a product with yield and quality very similar to the original oil extracted from the wood.
Sergio Souza, shareholder.
The validation of this extraction technique, was determinant for the implementation of the plantation and the distillation facility by Sergio Souza, agronomist rooted in Itacoatiara, and Eduardo Mattoso, entrepreneur from São Paulo, and thus, reintroduce rosewood in the international market of essential oils and perfume ingredients.
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