Drought affects acai palm saplings

During a recent inspection of our new açaí plantations, Murilo discovered that about 400 saplings had perished from a combination of intense heat and lack of rain. Dry spells do occur even in the rain forest, especially with global climate change! Since the adult workers at the reserve were busy building our jungle canopy observation tower, Murilo asked the children of Esperanza to help him collect new açaí saplings. The children collected in 2 days what six adult workers at the reserve collected in one week. With the proper guidance and education, these kids could grow up to be glowing models of eco-friendly business efficiency for the communities of the river basin! 

1,000 new saplings were planted to replace the 400 that didn't make it, which makes over 5,000 saplings planted at the reserve, total area about 5 hectares in places that were previously cleared before the reserve was established. We expect about 80% of the plants to survive to adulthood and fruit, so by planting a little extra, we're hoping to achieve as high a yield as possible.  

The tower also continues to grow, and we hope to finish construction by the end of the month!