It is impossible to tell the story of the Amazon without talking about the rubber boom. This raw material was a symbol of the region's economy at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century and allowed palaces and theaters to be built in northern Brazil, with wealth concentrated in the hands of an elite that exploited rubber tappers at the cost of human slavery, known as “sistema de aviamento” [delivery system].

Today, the scenario has changed: the rubber tappers extract latex with knowledge transmitted from parents and grandparents and are remunerated for that. And more; they also transform the raw product into shoes, home furnishings and even biojewelry. This is the case of the “Seringô” cooperative, which brings together more than 1,200 families around the extraction and processing of latex, which flows down the trunk of the tree known as the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).
 

One of the cooperative members – Maria das Neves Bastos – used to be a curious child and made a point of accompanying her grandfather and older brothers into the forest in the municipality of Inhangapi, located in the northeast of the State of Pará, whenever they went to extract latex. That was how she learned the right measure of force she needed to apply to make the excavated line on the rubber tree trunk, as well as the depth of the cut, which must be shallow enough so as not to hurt the tree. The ideal is to arrive by six o'clock in the morning at the tree that will be cut.

"If you come late, you'll waste time, because the wind blows and the milk rises all the way up. Early in the morning, the milk is from the middle of the rubber tree downwards, so it's the ideal time to cut. Another important thing is that if you cut [the tree] without leaves, the tree dies. You have to wait for a lot of leaves to sprout. It only starts to produce many leaves in July, which is the peak of production. February and March are months with a lot of rain, so we don't cut them either, because the rain makes the trunk wet and mixes with the milk, which affects the purity of the latex", she says.
 

At nine o'clock in the morning, Maria das Neves and her brother José do Carmo return to the tree that was scratched earlier and collect a small bowl with about 300 milliliters of white milk that will later become rubber. The next day, the process starts over again. Anyone who thinks that all the lines are made at once is mistaken, bearing in mind the classic image of the rubber tree with 20 lines, one below the other towards the middle of the tree, forming a beak. Only one line can be made per day. After 20 days, a flag or panel is completed, which is a delimited space on the tree for extraction.

“After a year, an open flag can yield milk again. Sometimes, depending on the tree, we have to wait up to two years to extract it again in the same place. This is the time for the tree to regenerate. This is why we have to be gentle on the cuts, without hitting the stem, as too much force causes wounds to the trees and this means waiting even longer for the bark to regenerate. Some trees take three flags. It is the most common. At most, four. But there is one huge in my area that catches up to six flags and yields a lot of milk", says Maria.

Within the family property, José do Carmo is responsible for 120 rubber trees. Maria das Neves, on the other hand, works with 170. Everything is planned so that there is a perfect rotation between the trees that will be cut throughout the year, with the purpose of guaranteeing the necessary regeneration time without stopping production. After the milk falls into the bowl, the collected rubber must be allowed to rest for a day. The next day, it's time to wash the material and add some bleach, which helps to dissipate the strong latex odor. After that, just dry the product in the shade and it is ready to be sold. A two-liter bottle of latex costs R$50. A kilogram of rubber is sold for R$10. For Maria das Neves, applying the knowledge she learned from family members in the past to generate income for her present family is a reason to be proud.

"My grandfather was a rubber tapper who used to set up a tent in the woods, stayed there for long periods. In the past, rubber tappers suffered a lot making rubber... they had to cut a lot of wood to make fire, roll the rubber slowly to be smoked in the middle of the forest until it turned black, which was the most expensive rubber. All this was very rudimentary and with few resources. Grandpa had a big basin and, when it was full, he would pierce the rubber and spend 20 days with it in the water. And then, he had to go to Belém to sell it. I helped him and kept thinking about one day selling rubber. And that's what I do it today, but with much more structure, without moving far away and with the support of the cooperative. I'm happy and grateful, because the people know how to extract and have someone to sell to. The products that are generated are beautiful. It is a complete turning point in relation to the past system of slavery in the Amazon. Today, we are paid and free", she says.

Cooperative members create a sustainable economy model

Created in the 1980s, the cooperative understood that it was necessary to go beyond extraction. It was also necessary to train families to add greater commercial value to rubber. Pedagogical coordinator of “Seringô”, Zélia Damasceno says that the transfer of this social technology is essential so that knowledge about latex extraction is not lost, since envisioning a possibility of income from the forest encourages new generations to learn to extract and benefit the raw material. She celebrates the engagement of young people in the manufacture of biojewels, especially when they themselves create pages on social networks to publicize and sell their own products.

The aim is that all cooperative members can sell the products independently, gaining autonomy, but whenever necessary, we also help by making connections with local stores. Everything is utilized. Components of sneakers are produced in the factory using rubber collected by the tappers. The liquid latex is also used to create raised designs on t-shirts, using either artificial or natural dyes. Besides, everything is labeled with information about the communities and the producers. I am sure that the more training we provide, the more people will learn and pass on their knowledge to others. They become multiplying agents of this entrepreneurial quality. It's truly beautiful to witness, because it includes quilombolas, indigenous people, and riverine communities in a sustainable economic model," she says.

MOBILIZATION

Originally from the municipality of Anajás, in the Marajó Archipelago, Marizeli Freitas is one of the artisans who have benefited from the cooperative's training programs. Today, she also teaches courses on production of decorative leaves and bio-jewelry in the surrounding neighborhood where she lives.

"It was a step that made a huge difference in my life. I started producing around the same time I began my Pedagogy course. During that time, I worked as a janitor, but I earned very little money. So, rubber helped support my family and many doors opened for me. I graduated, now I can help other women. We all have dreams. It's rewarding to help other ones to accomplish their dreams too. Today, my children are involved in the project. We know that jobs are scarce, so entrepreneurship is a great help. I have been visiting nearby rubber tapping areas more and more, encouraging people to return to rubber production. It's something nature has given us, and it can be used responsibly and conscientiously. I love seeing how people are amazed when we show them the final product and tell them it's made from latex milk," she emphasizes. (E.L.)

Factory based in a city in Pará includes footwear production

The cooperative also has a factory located in the municipality of Castanhal, in the northeastern region of the state of Pará, which is responsible for producing footwear under the brand "Seringô" for the entire world. These sneakers and sandals can be entirely or partially made with rubber, since there are products that combine other regional elements from the Amazon, such as jute fiber. No product is the same as another, because rubber pieces of various colors are compressed together, creating colors and shapes that are impossible to replicate. All this began due to Francisco Samonek, the visionary behind the cooperative that manages the production. He migrated from Paraná to Acre in the 1980s and started bringing together Amazonian rubber tappers for a horizontal and cooperative business model. He states that the number of 1.2 thousand cooperative members should be celebrated, but he believes that the cooperative has the potential to bring together up to 18 thousand producers, artisans, and workers.
 

“Each family unit is like a school, because people learn and can teach neighboring families at low costs. The cooperative provides materials and training, but this skill of extraction is unique and century-old, passed down from grandfather to father and from father to son. It is a labor force that contributes to sustainability. I see the importance of this new moment for rubber in the region as very positive, as we are going through a critical time on planet Earth. It raises awareness among the population about environmental issues and inclusive, sustainable production chains. The Amazon and sustainable production in the forest are an opportunity, because if Amazon citizens have income, they will conserve the forest, as they know how to produce without destroying. As I always say, the guardians of the forest need to be encouraged and qualified to earn fair income. This is the key," she evaluates.

Brazil loses protagonism to Southeast Asia

The rubber market generates R$28 billion annually in Brazil. Since the 1990s, the largest production base has been the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast region, which accounts for 67% of the 200,000 tons manufactured per year in the country, with a significant part of rubber plantations. Globally, the leadership in production lies in Southeast Asia, in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, which together produce around one-third of the 14 million tons of rubber consumed worldwide. The Asian success in the sector dates back to 1876, when rubber tree seeds originally from the Amazon were smuggled from the Vale do Tapajós to England by botanist Henry Wickman. Later, from there, they were taken to British colonies, mainly in Malaysia, which is now the seventh-largest producer in the world. The transportation of these seedlings anticipated the decline of Amazonian dominance in the market, which experienced its peak between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to a significant increase in population in the region.

There was a second rubber boom between 1941 and 1945, during World War II, as the United States needed high volumes of rubber due to the conflict. The end of the war led to a decline in rubber production in the Amazon region once again. Today, concerning regions where extraction from native trees in the Amazon prevails, Pará leads the production with 1,412 tons produced in 2021, according to Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]. Brazil was the world's main supplier until the 19th century due to the rubber boom in the Amazon, but now holds only 1.5% of this market, according to data from the São Paulo Association of Rubber Producers and Processors.