The Kaimókara Darien Projects Overview
James A. Brunton Jr.
Throughout my life in the Darien I have mourned the failure of many a well-meaning conservation initiative and I have attributed these failures to a mismatch between the designs of the initiatives and the nature of the overall dynamic which drives events in this once-great rainforest.
It is a dynamic which operates much like a diesel engine, each piece interacting synergistically with every other piece, and the whole moving inexorably in the direction of their net impact.
I knew that if we produced a thousand perfect “pistons” to try to drive healthy change in the Darien, but didn’t produce a single “cylinder”, we could not really expect our engine to operate effectively, and we would never realize our goals.
If, for example, we try to introduce entrepreneurial opportunities for the natives, but fail to generate a culture-shift which provides not only the tools of entrepreneurship but also the mindset of entrepreneurship, we are bound to fail, and the natives will continue their destructive slash and burn and lumber extraction—as indeed they have.
Our understanding must be deeper and our solutions more comprehensive if we are to succeed.
PHILOSOPHICAL AND BUSINESS UNDERPINNINGS
The Kaimókara Project consists of multiple initiatives, each contributing its part to a powerful and sustainable socioeconomic engine—production, education, marketing, culture, corporate structure, world perspectives—each an important part of a carefully conceived and much more important whole designed to return health to a great rainforest, and a future to an indigenous people.
And while the whole may be sparked by altruism, each part is fueled by self-interest.
Eight core beliefs form the foundations of the Kaimókara Project:
The Emberá Natives cannot rely on craft or similar dynamics which are intrinsically self-limiting
The Emberá need to develop a more powerful economic dynamic, seize the initiative and own the process.
Returns for this dynamic need to be significantly higher than those for existing dynamics in order to compensate for the risks involved with change.
Products need to be commonplace, like chairs or fruit juice—not rare like cocobolo carvings, or thousand-dollar baskets
They need to create and own their own markets—and eliminate intermediaries as much as possible
In order to establish unique brand authenticity and slow down the inevitable onslaught of competitors until a solid market foothold can be established, products need to be linked as closely as possible to the Kaimókara brand and to the Kaimókara logic which aims for a healthy rain-forest and a healthy indigenous population.
Therefore products need to be either ecologically positive or ecologically neutral and to capitalize on the presence of a massive global population beginning to become alarmed at the potential consequences of global warming. Such global markets will also allow the natives to bypass local prejudices and preconceptions.
They need to gain a measure of economic control of their rain-forest.
In 2008 a Panamanian umbrella corporation called Kaimókara (the dream) S.A. was created to support these endeavors. Over time, ownership will migrate more and more to those in the Darien who become involved with the Kaimókara effort.
Initial profits will be tagged mainly for three purposes – infrastructure to support Kaimókara products, the training necessary to support Kaimókara products, and the education necessary to create an entrepreneurial next generation in a culturally evolved but intact Emberá society.
The success of our products will not depend on Panamanian markets, but on independent global markets full of people concerned with humanity’s mishandling of its natural world. Our initial marketing strategy, centered on the book Tiller for Tomorrow, and on the Emberá-crewed yacht Pajaro Jai, will jump-start our marketing process to a degree impossible in any other way.
A large and enduring market needs to depend on more than idealism, so our products will have to be solid and practical and useful and, if possible, confer personal advantages on our customers. Therefore each product will be evaluated on the basis of:
Usefulness and practicality
Ecological footprint
High potential for economic vitality
Suitability for Global markets,
Suitability within Emberá culture
Its ability to confer prestige on the buyers
Tools for Kaimókara
We saw that other ingredients necessary to fuel new more favorable dynamics were beginning to mature in the Darien and simmer on the world stage:
The internet was generating unheard-of communications capabilities and beginning to diminish the importance of geographic location in business management
Satellite technology was making the internet available anywhere.
The cost of personal computers was falling and their power was rising
Computer technology and new software were simplifying the complex accounting and management functions necessary to modern business execution and control.
There was increasing global cultural awareness of the relationship between rain-forests and global warming
The means to take dramatic action on the world stage – the new ocean cruising ketch Pájaro Jai was coming together in the Darien—Tiller for Tomorrow was percolating in the author’s mind.
Cultural Evolution
We understood that Emberá culture would need to evolve to reflect its new-found strength and that we would need to encourage this evolution in order to avoid the alternative - which would be collapse. We decided to invest profits in ways that would:
Strengthen Emberá culture by focusing those natural tendencies within Emberá society which supported our global dynamic so that they might guarantee future successes.
Motivate educated Emberá (heavily subsidize their salaries) to return to the Darien as native-speaking teachers so that the young and impressionable would not continue to be subsumed by the adjacent Latino culture.
Build Emberá-taught secondary schools on each Darien River so that the next generation wouldn’t be sent away to schools in large Latino communities
Bring the concepts of entrepreneurship and business management into the educational process so that within a decade the Emberá themselves could become the entrepreneurial drivers of the overall process, not the cogs in the gearbox.
Other Considerations
The grand design of our Kaimókara project was emerging from our surrounding reality and it encompassed broad elements of the socio-economic dynamic, not only in the Darien, but also out in the world in general, but there were three more elements of that dynamic that needed attention:
First: Ownership. We knew that if Kaimókara proved very successful, outside power would move to control it and then begin to move profits to its own pockets, so we needed a strategy that would keep control in the hands of the people of the Darien.
So I (Jim Brunton) would own majority control for the first ten years until Kaimókara’s educational initiatives had had time to produce an entrepreneurial generation capable of running a global corporation. Then, as stipulated in the bylaws, sufficient of my shares would be distributed proportionately among existing indigenous shareholders (according to their contributions to Kaimókara) so that majority control would shift to the indigenous owners and remain there permanently (the by-laws would also stipulate that any native shares sold subsequently could only be sold, either to another native of the Darien, or to Kaimókara itself which would then control any resale).
Second: Initial Stage Survival. By now we knew that the trajectory of tasks normal for traditional business building (start small and local) was inappropriate in a world where powerful forces are determined to own the profit or to crush your efforts because they threaten their own. In such a world a fledgling enterprise, delicate and vulnerable, offers too many opportunities to those who would destroy it, and too little financial vitality to defend itself.
Therefore we decided on an oblique approach which would first lure the participation of powerful local and global interests by offering significant financial opportunities within our overall dynamic. When our complete solution was finally activated, they would find themselves defending the environment and the Emberá in order to defend their own interests.
So we designed our solutions so that the participation of strategic allies, like hotel owners and fruit juice bottlers, would be extremely lucrative for them as well - but only in the context of the structure controlled by Kaimókara S.A.
Third: the education of future generations
I had long been evolving an educational structure (The Global Education Initiative) that aimed to use technology to provide a superb education in remote regions at a fraction of the cost of existing methods. When the Pajaro Jai was out in the world promoting our concepts, I would look for allies to help finish and install the software underpinnings of that system and mount a pilot project in Mogue. I hoped in this way to give my Darien friends the tools to deal effectively and wisely with their exciting future.
The Kaimókara Project involves three domains of product development—Agriculture, Micro-Industry, and Tourism. Each domain is adventurous yet practical, idealistic yet profitable, and for participants, each represents a unique chance to make a positive difference and make money at the same time.
GROWING Borojó—Agro-business and Environmental Conservation—
With the general plan for Kaimókara already clear in my mind, I turned my attention to the details of the production/market dynamic which would determine success or failure. Global production of Borojó is very limited (only 3000 hectares were in production at the turn of the present century), but there are several studies which, when combined with centuries of Emberá experience, form a solid base for the Kaimókara approach to its commercialization.
The study by the Corporation for Sustainable Development in Ecuador (1999) is quite comprehensive, for example, and is based on actual Borojó production in Columbia and Ecuador. Another solid study by the International University of Ecuador (2015) contains additional in-depth analysis of the fruit itself and deals with all phases of production from grower to market.
Among foods in the world, Borojó stands out as one of the strangest yet. Its pulp has the look and feel of axle grease yet it has a unique set of health benefits which are praised to the sky in local legend:
It is so rich in minerals and vitamins that no other fruit on this planet can compete with it.
It is known as the Natural Viagra or “Love Juice” to the native people of Panama, Colombia and the Amazon region.
Has been used by natives for centuries to heal wounds, balance sugar in the blood, control arterial hypertension, regulate blood pressure, aid in menstrual discomfort for women, and to soothe bronchial infections.
It is its own natural energy drink. Natives in Colombia and Costa Rica have used the pulp for centuries for its ability to maintain high energy when taking long journeys through the jungle
One doctor even claims of this fruit that if it could be grown on a large scale, it could address the problem of malnutrition in the world.
But recent research also supports the idea that Borojó does indeed provide a power-house of nutrients needed by your body.
It is packed full of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals which all play a role in bringing health benefits to the body.
Almost no other fruit in the world has as high of quantity of water soluble B vitamins which are great for health.
Niacin (B3) is found is a very high amounts. Niacin in orthomolecular medical research has been shown to help in the fight against depression, anxiety, arthritis, cancer and most notably schizophrenia, as well as behavioral problems in children.
Some of the other vitamins found in good quantity are iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamins C, B1, B2 and silicium.
High contents of phosphorous help protect the brain function
High amino acid, ascorbic acid, and protein content
It is rich in a novel polyphenol compound which may be partly responsible for its health benefits and seems to fortify DNA and RNA structures and help cellular regeneration. Polyphenol research is still being conducted in order to verify what health benefits they may bring to the body.
Appears to reduce cholesterol problems.
One pound if Borojó provides the equivalent amino acid contents of three pounds of meat
It has a higher ORAC (antioxidant) rating than blueberries.
Its overall structure does indeed appear ideal for supplying instant energy boosts
Some hospitals in Panama now give it to their cancer patients.
And here are some reasons why the moment is ripe to bring Borojó to mainstream markets.
The juice of Borojó is unlike anything you have ever tasted and will bring a unique and delicious experience to your taste buds.
It can be processed for consumption under the following forms: juice, jelly, sauce, pulp, as a mixer of alcoholic beverages, ice cream, capsules, and extract.
With moderate refrigeration the fruit takes months to spoil.
Borojó is very concentrated with a high juice yield per hectare. One fruit can yield up to five gallons of juice.
Borojó needs the shade of other rainforest trees to produce fruit
The recent university studies have triggered growing global awareness and enthusiasm for the fruit.
World markets are increasingly concerned about the damage we are doing to our natural environment.
By capitalizing on the last three factors and creatively combining the others, the Kaimókara Project of the Emberá has created an unusual production/sales paradigm for Borojó which differentiates its appeal from competing products while at the same time increasing the number of buy incentives.
To the market appeal of existing health drinks which generally depends on great taste and personal health benefits, Borojó adds environmental health on a global scale and a future for an indigenous people—and it doesn’t do this indirectly by contributing to NGOs, but as a direct underlying consequence of every sales transaction which in itself implies the increased presence of rain-forest.
In effect, Borojo “out-healths” competitors because in this case the term also applies to global environmental health.
Current Status
Global production of Borojó juice is very limited (only 3,000 hectares were in production at the turn of the present century), but there are several studies which, when combined with centuries of Emberá experience, form a solid base for the commercialization of the juice using our Kaimókara approach.
A study by the Corporation for Sustainable Development in Ecuador (1999) is quite comprehensive and is based on actual Borojó production in Columbia and Ecuador. Another solid study by the International University of Ecuador (2015) contains additional in-depth analysis of the fruit itself and deals with all phases of production from grower to market.
The Crop
The Kaimókara Project applies many of the methods and structures seen in these studies but alters the objectives and strategies to grow rainforest on the same land. Participants would be required to adhere to Kaimókara growing methods.
In the International University of Ecuador study, each hectare is planted with 370 Borojó, 556 fast growing papaya for shade and additional income, and nearly 1,000 closely placed Leucaena for shade, windbreak, and animal forage.
Emphasizing the need for shade trees for optimal Borojó production, the Kaimókara plan starts with 360 Borojó and 417 papaya, and replaces Leucaena with other varied but appropriate rain-forest species. In addition, slower-growing rainforest species will be distributed throughout the hectare so that at least one-half of the area will eventually be completely covered with rainforest and the other half mixed with Borojó.
After the third papaya crop, those fruit trees will be replaced with additional rainforest species. Among these, we expect to include some percentage of trees with crop potential such as mango and guava. We plan to work with the Smithsonian Tropical Institute in Panama to decide on appropriate species and precise configurations.
Strategy for Continuance
Borojó will begin to produce fruit in its third or fifth year, depending on propagation method, and reach a break-even point by the fifth or seventh year respectively after which profitability is projected to rise dramatically. Eventually yields are anticipated to exceed the target so that even higher returns will be the rule for some years.
With time, however, the rainforest will begin to excessively over-shade the trees and diminish crop yields until they drop below target levels. Depending on individual Borojó tree yields after 20 years (there is conflicting information on this) we will continue to allow some of the Borojó trees to flourish by trimming adjacent rainforest trees. The goal will then be to sustain a revenue stream reduced to about half original target levels while allowing the rainforest to thrive at the same time.
The Gold Rush Mentality
The university study also concluded that twenty-two 16 oz. market-ready bottles of Borojó juice can be produced from 1 kg of raw fruit for $.30 per bottle if paying $.75 per Kg for the raw fruit (pg. 197). The Sustainable Development study assumes a higher cost per Kg for the raw fruit of $2.00 per Kg (PART 2 PARAGRAPH G) which when substituted in the cost analysis of the university study translates to about $.36 per bottle.
The Kaimókara plan on the other hand assumes an increase in grower compensation that can generate a gold rush mentality while at the same time re-grow the rainforest. In order to generate an 8,000% increase in return per hectare over cattle farming, that cost today would be $6.00 per Kg of fruit which translates to a gross cost of $0.54 per bottle ($0.18 per bottle increase over the sustainable development effort) for a line of health drinks that will aim for mainstream markets rather than the more expensive niche markets typical of exotic health drinks like goji or acai berry juice for example..
In the presence of stable mainstream global markets, this Kaimókara configuration with its dramatic increase in local return is designed to trigger such a virulent chain-reaction that those who currently cut down the rainforest for cattle or lumber would begin instead to plant it back, and those sitting on unused pasture regrowth would begin to act as well.
And though this approach may involve a slight increase of the production cost of Borojó over typical mainstream products, we need to keep in mind that the larger result (which justifies distributor involvement in the first place) is distributor prestige gained through participation in a project which actually promises to reverse large scale rain-forest destruction for the first time in history—prestige which in the end drives an increase in overall profitability.
The People
Key Emberá allies in this endeavor have had a lifetime of association with most of the leaders on the river systems of the Darien, some of whom participated in the construction of the sailing yacht Pajaro Jai. Men like Bolúngo and the current chief Dobiasa have shown great interest in the Kaimókara Project for a long time and have inspired others to create seedling farms and begin to prepare their land for Borojó.
The Latino population, mostly pioneers from agricultural provinces in the interior of Panama, comprise much of the remaining population in the Darien and are predominantly cattle farmers. Some of these also helped build the yacht Pajaro Jai and are interested in participating in the Kaimókara project if the financial incentives are attractive enough. With \ success many others will follow.
Markets
Markets are our first and highest priority and our promotional material is designed to inspire and motivate. Here for example is the opening of our Borojo brochure which will be distributed to news forums and potential allies during our upcoming West Coast Odyssey on the Pajaro Jai:
Imagine for a moment that there is a delicious fruit drink for which every drop consumed contributes directly and measurably to the reversal of the destruction of a great rainforest—say one acre per 10,000 drinkers. And say that this is the juice of a super-fruit which also contributes measurably to the general health of the drinker, invests her with more energy, for example, or eliminates aches and pains and cramps.
Then imagine that global mainstream populations become aware of this drink and make it an occasional part of their diet—enough so that instead of shrinking, the great rainforest, for the first time in recorded history, begins to expand.
Would global markets applaud? Could such a drink make a profitable investment? Does such a drink exist?
During the Odyssey, the brochure will be distributed in each city at news conferences and sessions with major blog managers. At each event, Bolúngo or Dobiasa will discuss their involvement and participation in Kaimókara and suggest that participants read The Shape of Tomorrow for a more complete perspective—a digital copy of the book will be given to those who wish to do so.
Then, in an effort to create a viral reaction, these Emberá chiefs will ask participants who see merit in Kaimókara to recommend the book to others by publishing the link to its Amazon edition on their social media.
Now let’s take a look at another initiative within the Kaimókara Project.
Tourism Kaimókara style.
In recent years tourism has been promoted by national and international groups as a future economic base for the people of the Darien but has so far failed to have the desired effect. In the indigenous village of Mogue, tourists pay only $10 per person to enter the village and enjoy the participation of 60 or more Emberá. Five to ten visitors per week is the norm though on rare occasions they have had up to 200 visitors. Half a dozen tourists might thus pay $50 for the day’s work of 60 individuals—less than a dollar per day per native. In an entire year the village with a population of 500 grosses between $10,000 and $20,000 or between $20 and $40 per inhabitant per year. Since this is nowhere near enough to feed their families, the natives have no alternative but to continue the slash and burn agricultural practices which underlie the destruction of the rainforest.
But the intermediaries who benefit from tourism and crafts today cannot be blamed for this state of affairs. These entrepreneurs are merely participating in the economic paradigms that exist today. Unfortunately those paradigms push us ever closer to the destruction of the rainforest and the impoverishment of the societies that live there.
Through the Kaimókara Project however, the tourism model is modified to help guarantee a healthy future for both the Darien and its people.
Level One—Bring the rainforest to the City
Recognizing that the size of the ecotourism business necessary to create a truly powerful economic future for the Darien (even if such an increase were possible) twould overwhelm the local culture and create a society whose primary purpose would be to entertain tourists, Kaimókara plans for the lion´s share of its activities to occur in already developed hotels in Panama City and throughout the country (and eventually in other counties), and to be skewed toward conferences and expositions for large groups.
Thus Kaimókara Inc. will incorporate an event component at major hotels in Panama and elsewhere which, instead of sending the participants to the rainforest, will bring the rainforest to the participants. At conferences which are developed and managed by Kaimókara Inc., representatives from Mogue and other rainforest villages will give talks about their dreams, their overall vision for the future, and about their innovative reforestation methods involving Borojó ; and other rainforest products. The natives will also flavor the events with indigenous food and demonstrations of indigenous culture.
Who will want to participate in such a plan?
Many groups (business groups of all kinds, conservation societies, NGO’s, activist groups, groups within and sponsored by the United Nations, etc.) look annually for locations to hold conventions and conferences. Even if not focused primarily on conservation, these groups tend to choose those venues based on conservationist themes because general perception fueled by world concern about climate change exerts social pressure to do so.
Level Two—Bring the tourists to the rainforest.
Inevitably many individuals who connect with the Pajaro Jai and with Kaimókara will wish to visit the Darien itself and see for themselves the Kaimókara Project in action. For this we have developed a plan which seeks to avoid the cultural decay associated with the current tourism dynamics by drawing the lion’s share of tourists to one area which features pristine rainforest and Emberá culture, but also the dynamic projects of Kaimókara itself.
On the eastern Pacific coast of the Darien bordering on Pinas Bay, is one of the most spectacular areas of the Darien. There, on a magnificent bluff overlooking the Pacific, we plan to build the definitive Emberá inspired and controlled destination. It will include Emberá-designed dwellings woven into the rainforest overlooking Pinas Bay and a crystal stream flowing onto a white crescent beach. It will also feature dugout tours of the adjacent Jaque River with its rainforest wildlife and picturesque villages.
Included in the tour will be a visit to the Kaimókara projects which hope to turn the tide for the Emberá and the rainforest. These will include nearby Borojó seedling farms and plantations and examples of healthy Micro-industry.
The site will provide a complete Darien experience without trivializing Emberá and Wounaan culture. Instead it will feature indigenous projects in the vanguard of global efforts to keep our natural world healthy.
To distribute the income generated by this site, Kaimókara will employ on a rotating basis Emberá and Wounaan natives from most of the villages in the Darien to run it.
Micro-industry
According to Jose Gallardo, son of my friend Nicholas, and one of the most successful farmers in my old Peace Corps territory Quintín, 50 acres of pasture will support 20 cows over many years. Of these, five cows can be sold annually with gross receipts of $2,500 at current prices. 500 acres would thus be required to generate enough income to support a middle class family, but it would take 5,000 acres to generate real economic power—and all at the expense of the rainforest.
The chair in the photo was created by a high-end furniture manufacturer in the United States. The design, the joinery, and the finish are all world class. The retail value in the international luxury furniture market is $2,500 per chair. Based on our experience of lumber yields during the building the Pajaro Jai, we calculate that it is possible to construct 100 indigenous-designed chairs of similar quality from only one mature rainforest tree thus generating gross receipts of $250,000.
Harvesting one tree per 50 acres per year and selling at wholesale prices (50% reduced), would yield receipts of up to 50 times greater than those earned for cattle. Even at half that price, this alternative represents a 2,500 percent increase in income per acre over cattle farming, an increase that should tempt even dyed-in-the-wool cattle farmers.
The talent to produce these chairs exists in the Darien, the precious woods exist, and the high-level cabinet-making technology can be learned from world-class experts. This product is eminently logical for the Darien and Kaimókara is developing similar products for more micro-industry projects, all with healthy consequences for the rainforest and for the natives, and all positioned for high-end world markets.
Importantly even at half the price of luxury market products, this approach reflects both the true cost of responsibly harvested rainforest, and the need for reduced market size for such products.
Kaimókara—THE LONG VIEW
The Kaimókara Project offers a long-term evolving process, not a short-term fix.
The crux of the problem is that the people of the Darien alone cannot begin the process. They are not familiar with the breadth of available options nor do they possess the necessary marketing or business knowledge. This doesn`t mean that they can´t acquire it over time—only that right now and alone they cannot jump-start the powerful global dynamic necessary to guarantee social and economic health for the next generation. They need our help.
The crux of the solution is that they will participate, and be gradually drawn in by success if a viable dynamic is available, especially if they own the heart of that dynamic. This allows the next generation to absorb lessons of success as part of the cultural reality they breathe. That generation will be able to support the structures with far less outside help, and hopefully subsequent generations with no help at all.
But without any strong and innovative economic dynamic to initiate and drive this process, many in those later generations will simply populate the slums of Panama City or live in cultural and physical poverty in the Darien. And the rainforest will continue to deteriorate.
Education
Kaimókara’s long term success depends on the people of the Darien, and they, in order to run their own innovative global enterprise, must have the intellectual tools to make it successful. The system of public education in Panama, like many in the third world, does not provide courses focusing on the entrepreneurial skills necessary to successful business, so Kaimókara will develop local secondary schools on the major rivers of the Darien to be staffed primarily by educated natives and Emberá-speaking Latinos who in addition to the classic and required courses involving history and language, will concentrate on the bedrock and practical issues underlying successful enterprise.
To encourage educated native participation on staff, Kaimókara will set aside an appropriate sum to incentivize participation of qualified individuals. Kaimókara will also invite retired individuals from English-speaking countries, including entrepreneurs, to come to the Darien and support language classes which will focus primarily on English as the economic language of the world, but will also discuss business techniques and tools and provide personal insights to successful business. Also invited to participate will be experts in subjects of global and economic importance.
But in order to help fuel a culture shift from oppressed and dependent minority to enlightened proactive trail-blazer, Kaimókara plans to incorporate into this Emberá educational experience the first working model of a Global Educational Initiative which uses the latest technologies to provide a virtual educational experience designed to connect participants with the world at large. Embera children will be virtually united with children from the United States and other participating nations in an approach which will encourage global perspectives and racial tolerance.
An in-depth description of this Global Educational Initiative can be found within PRIORITY PROJECTS on the Humanity’s Brain Website and you are welcome to add your comments and suggestions which will be evaluated and potentially added to the overall plan once the idea percolation process has been activated.
Next steps
The people of the Darien can already see that their Odysseys have opened amazing opportunities. They have heard the praises of major leaders and journalists and have felt the support and encouragement of businesses and industries looking for allies—and they can imagine a future based on their talents and their initiatives.
So in the near future, the Emberá and Wounaan and other Darien natives will begin an historic 8,000 mile Odyssey on the Pajaro Jai up the east coast of the United States from Florida to Maine and back. In each port they will present their comprehensive market-driven rainforest preservation model to the press, to governments, and to potential business allies, and they will invite the public to tour their beautiful yacht. Along the way they will support numerous environmental, indigenous, and humanitarian groups with events, conferences, and celebrations.
The following year they plan another Odyssey along the west coast of North America—and the following year they will travel across the Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe where they will visit London, Edinburgh Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Stockholm and St Petersburg and then gradually work their way south along the coast of Europe and into the Mediterranean visiting more than 35 cities in 20 countries.
As we move forward with our Kaimókara initiative, we fully expect experience to help us refine and improve our methods and results, and we intend to work closely with our allies and to retain the flexibility necessary to ultimate success,
More detailed information regarding Kaimókara can be found within PRIORITY PROJECTS on the Humanity’s Brain Website and you are welcome to add your comments and suggestions which will be evaluated and potentially added to the overall plan.
The struggle of the people of the Darien will not end with our efforts, and there will be new opportunities and new challenges, but the Kaimókara Project represents an opportunity for greatness for the people of the Darien and an important invitation for the rest of us. If successful it will shine light on a path to environmental health that might even become a model for the world, and in the process it will give renewed strength and purpose to an ancient culture.
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE Kaimókara Project
Press Release (text)
Saving the Darien Rain Forest
Imagine for a moment that there is a delicious fruit drink for which every drop consumed contributes directly and measurably to the reversal of the destruction of a great rain-forest – say one acre per month per10,000 drinkers. And say that this is the juice of a super-fruit which also contributes measurably to the general health of the drinker, invests her with more energy, for example, or eliminates aches and pains and cramps.
Then imagine that global mainstream populations become aware of this drink and make it an occasional part of their diet - enough so that instead of shrinking, the great rainforest, for the first time in recorded history, begins to expand.
Would global markets applaud? Could such a drink make a profitable investment? Does such a drink exist?
I have spent almost 50 years in one of the densest rain-forests in the world where the earnest efforts of many well-known conservation organizations have simply not been sufficient to stem the destruction. During that blink of that geological eye, nearly 40% of the Darien Rain-forest of Panama has perished - and still the process continues unabated.
At this point we are left with little alternative but to find additional more effective strategies and act quickly or lose this critical component of our global ecosystem. And we must do the same for Borneo and for Brazil and for rainforests everywhere.
Kaimókara (the dream) is a rainforest conservation initiative created with the help of the Emberá Natives of the Darien. As far as I know it is the only plan ever fueled by hard-nosed, high-profit capitalism which, if successful, guarantees rainforest renewal and growth – not slower rainforest destruction, not the status quo, not destructive teak forests or tiny altruistic havens – but the healthy and profitable expansion of rainforest.
At the same time the plan is designed to provide local indigenous society with an evolutionary path to unity and strength and purpose and pride. It is a path which grows from their own traditions but which seizes global opportunity - and it seeks to replace the probable alternative path for their societies which is slow deterioration and ultimate destruction.
Of course this sounds like an outrageous claim, a pipedream which we can ignore - but some very serious people have seen this plan and decided to back it. Bill Gladstone is one of the most successful literary agents in the world with the most bestsellers and the most books sold. Kenneth Kales is an editor and publisher whose books have won Nobel Prizes and Pulitzers.
These two are behind my upcoming book Tiller for Tomorrow which explains the Kaimókara plan in detail and which will help promote the business at its core.
The project will be initiated and the book will be released during the upcoming historic odyssey up the West Coast of North America of the 95 foot jungle-built, Emberá-crewed sailing yacht Pájaro Jai (Rainforest Phoenix).
Kaimókara Business Summary
Kaimókara Inc. is the corporate entity charged with execution of this plan which involves not just Borojó, but several other products as well. The Kaimókara Plan turns tourism on its head, for example, so that local profits are dramatically increased without destroying the indigenous society that supports them. And the plan promotes the development of local micro-industry aiming at high-end markets based on the use of miniscule amounts of rain-forest resources.
But Kaimókara’s approach to the introduction of the rare fruit Borojó to mainstream world markets will best serve to illustrate its basic operating principals:
That in order to reverse the massive trends which destroy rainforests, solutions must reflect the magnitude of the problem and preferably reside at the very heart of human activity (food, shelter, energy), not only at the periphery (tourism, crafts, exotic niche markets).
Solutions must be based, not on rare altruism, but on universal self-interest and must be propelled by incentives attractive enough to overcome existing cultural, educational, political, and economic barriers to change.
Optimally they should be driven by profit levels that so exceed existing levels that the switch from destructive to constructive activity becomes widespread and inevitable.
And these profit levels must exist not only at the local level, but also at intermediate and destination market levels as well
Solutions must be so constructed that each level of activity reinforces the other. Incentives must be built into the market dynamic, for example, so that the profits of the local producer cannot be easily undermined by the greed of the intermediary. The goals must be to build both health for our natural world and economic stability for participants at every level.
Local societies must own their part of the process and profit together from its success.
That in order to craft such solutions we must look beyond the local factors which formed existing local practices in the first place, to global factors (technologies, markets, resources, perceptions) from which, with a big dollop of creativity, truly transformational self-propelled paradigms can be constructed.
Enthusiasm for the delicious Borojó has been on the rise since a study in 2011 by Rutgers University demonstrated its unusual properties. We believe that this enthusiasm has now reached a critical mass in health-food markets which, with the help of mainstream bottlers/distributors and the global PR efforts of the Kaimókara project itself, can catapult this unique beverage to mainstream markets.
Here are some of the characteristics which make it a perfect candidate for this project:
The fruit meets or exceeds nutrition ratings of super-fruits on the market today. For example it has more antioxidants than blueberries and is rich in calcium potassium and numerous vitamins.
The fruit juice is delicious
The raw fruit remains viable for months with minimal refrigeration.
The Borojó tree will not thrive in the absence of shade. As a consequence growers for this project will plant at least one hundred rain-forest trees for every three hundred Borojó.
The pulp is extremely concentrated making it possible to prepare up to five gallons of fruit juice with just one fruit. This means a large yield of end-product per acre and a higher price for the raw fruit itself.
These characteristics and others allow us to build a local production paradigm which will yield a local return up to 8,000% greater than most popular current paradigms and which is expected to drive rapid, self-propelled rain forest renewal with a virulent gold-rush mentality which draws local farmers away from destructive practices toward a healthy and profitable rain forest future.
This local paradigm will be linked to a global marketing strategy which differentiates the delicious super-drink from other health drinks by referring to the Borojó based line as “rain-forest Renaissance”. And though Borojó income streams for bottlers/distributors should match or exceed existing profitability norms, the real reward for their collaboration with Kaimókara lies in the likelihood that their involvement in this historic project - their demonstration that the holy grail of massive economic success coupled with massive environmental success is actually attainable and can cause a great rain-forest to regenerate - will raise their overall stature as global citizens (and consequently the perceived worth of all their products).
It is this last element that provides the incentive that will tend to maintain the form and the integrity of the dynamic at every level.
The Business
The Corporation Kaimókara S.A. in Panama has been formed as the umbrella corporation for all Kaimókara projects. The Board of Directors consists of myself and key Panamanian players including the past Emberá chief Leonardo Teocama (Bolungo) (who has worked with me on this project and others for over 25 years) and his nephew Alberto Rito, also a long-time player. The current, newly elected Emberá chief Dobiasa will be invited to join us as the project progresses. Latinos include Oda Gomez the daughter of the late master builder of our 95 foot sailing yacht the Pajaro Jai. She is currently a key member of Panama’s National Commission on Medicines which was created to authorize all medicines entering Panama’s National Health system.
In 2016 we will create Kaimókara Incorporated, which will be the U.S. parent of Kaimókara S.A and which will serve as the investment vehicle within the United States. Initially the board of Directors will consist of myself and several key U.S. and Panamanian allies, but as our West Coast Odyssey progresses we will invite strategic partners, and global citizens to join us.
Kaimókara Inc. does not seek to grow the fruit itself, nor to involve itself directly in bottling and distribution. Its purposes are:
To promote the Borojó Kaimókara brand “rain-forest Renaissance” via the International Odysseys of our beautiful Emberá crewed, jungle-built 95-foot sailing yacht Pajaro Jai which will host countless events and introduce the above-mentioned book which explains the project in detail.
To establish and maintain a seedling base of two million trees.
To distribute seedlings free of charge to growers who have demonstrated their ability to produce.
To guarantee that growing practices conform to Kaimókara standards.
To buy from the growers within constraints set out in the company objectives.
To sell to the bottlers within constraints set out in Kaimókara objectives.
To ship product from central sites on the principal rivers of the Darien to bottler/distributors around the world.
To allow growers, through participation, to become shareholders in the business itself.
During the upcoming West Coast Odyssey we expect to develop a strategic alliance for our Borojó initiative with one major bottler and distributor. We will also create alliances which relate to our other products. We will determine with them whether the next promotional Odyssey will occur in Europe or Asia.
We are currently looking for early stage allies who will be invited to participate in high-profile events during the upcoming Odyssey and who will be invited to hold events of their own on the Emberá-crewed boat in West Coast cities of their choice.
During the Odyssey, the brochure and business summary will be distributed in each city at news conferences and sessions with major Blog managers. At each event, Bolúngo or Dobiasa will discuss their involvement and participation in Kaimókara and suggest that participants read Tiller for Tomorrow for a more complete perspective and for which a digital copy will be issued free of charge. In an effort to create a viral reaction, these Emberá chiefs will then ask participants who see merit in Kaimókara to summarize it and to recommend the book and publish its buy-point in their article or blog entry.
As we move forward with our Kaimókara initiative, we fully expect experience to help us refine and improve the methods and results and we intend to retain the flexibility necessary to ultimate success. And we hope to work closely with our distributor allies.
We need to have a vigorous discussion, for example, regarding the market implications of a sudden increase in the price of the raw fruit. How would that affect competitors? Would it allow the distributor to control existing sources until Rainforest Renaissance products are able to dominate retail markets, or would it cripple the distributor’s competitive posture.so that it couldn’t compete at all? What is the best strategy to overcome such anticipated obstacles and arrive at our stated objective?