A conversation with Marcelo Salazar & Zé Porto, co-founders of Mazô Maná, about how we preserve what is left of the Amazon rainforest, regenerate the forest and, most importantly, truly partner with the Indigenous peoples of the forest who have been stewarding this ecosystem for generations. Yes, the Amazon is a vast, managed agroforestry system. Marcelo e Zé, after decades of working with NGOs deep in the Amazon and building careers with corporate tech giants like Google, decided to create a superfood shake made purely from nutrient-dense ingredients—up to 14— directly sourced from the forest, avoiding monoculture. Indigenous peoples partly own the company.
Why did they choose this model, and why are regenerative brands essential for elevating awareness and consciousness around deforestation? A healthy Amazon is crucial not only for the planet but also for local climates, as recent floods in São Paulo demonstrate. So, how can we encourage health-focused consumers in cities like São Paulo and Rio to buy superfoods from their “backyard”, rather than relying on imported products from overseas marketed by fancy foreign brands who are mostly good at marketing?



IF YOU WANT TO INVEST IN THE AMAZON RAINFOREST, TRY HARDER AND LISTEN MORE
One key element is the need for courageous investors who are willing to listen and adapt to the unique challenges of the Amazon rainforest.
”I think my message is if you want to invest in the Amazon rainforest, try harder and listen more. Try to listen more than try to teach to the Amazon rainforest communities and local people. I think that the indicators they use—many of them—don’t apply for the region. Be courageous—really courageous. We have a lot of opportunities, but I feel the investors—not the investors of Mazô Maná, but many others—are not courageous enough to really create a new business for the Amazon rainforest conservation. I think we need more courageous investors able to be in the ground, to listen to tasks, to fail, and to create new paths. I think this is a key message.” Marcelo Salazar
”From the conversations that we’ve had with the more traditional investors, I think they try to apply regular rules, KPIs, and frameworks to a place that’s different, to a context that’s completely different, so there isn’t actually good will to adapt and listen, as Marcelo said, and adapt. So, they just try to replicate, and it’s not possible to replicate what you’re doing in Sao Paulo or in New York to nature.” Zé Porto
WHY 10% OF THE COMPANY’S SHAREHOLDING IS OWNED BY THE TRADITIONAL PEOPLES OF THE FOREST
Marcelo and Zé discuss the principles of Mazô Maná’s business model, including the use of diverse products and the inclusion of traditional communities.
”We also reserve 10% of our equity to community associations. So part of our business model is not only including and having positive impact for the traditional communities, but also including them in different ways, in the more advanced ways than other businesses have done so far, so that they are part of the business, they are part of the decisions, and they co-create the products, how we move forward, and as we grow, they are not benefiting only from us buying ingredients from them, but they are also part, they have a share of the company. They’re not stakeholders, but they are shareholders as well.” Zé Porto
”Like Patagonia creates this model of nature as a shareholder, we are trying to push a model that traditional communities are shareholders. So, we are trying to create a model and trying to influence other companies to have equity for communities, equity for community movements, especially in the Amazon rainforest. When we see the map of the deforestation, it is very clear that where there are traditional communities, there are forests. […] in the Amazon rainforest make more sense of this concept of communities as shareholders than nature as shareholders, because the communities are nature, the communities are inside, are the same thing, and it’s easier to make it happen.” Marcelo Salazar
WHY MARCELO DECIDED TO BUILD A CONSUMER (CPG) COMPANY AFTER 20 YEARS IN THE NGO WORLD
Marcelo explains the founding of Mazô Maná and the company’s mission to create a new model of business in the Amazon rainforest.
”After three years in Sao Paulo, I said, no, I need to work and put all my energy into the Amazon rainforest conservation, especially to empower and support the traditional communities in the Amazon rainforest. And then began a long journey, and I founded an NGO, then I founded a first company with Brazil nets. We failed with this company; we went bankrupt, in the first year we lost all the money. It was crazy.” Marcelo Salazar
”Then I went to Europe to study how the market works for fair trade, organic, and so on, trying to find a way to have more value for Amazon rainforest products. That was one of the strongest demands from the communities, and when I came back, I founded another company, a consulted company to support communities to do a strategic plan in their territories.” Marcelo Salazar
”It’s a challenge. I think we have many different ways to support it, but the first one is to create solutions that is plural. There is not only one solution; we need to combine different ingredients, different contracts, and different sources of resources, like non-profit resources, with profit research with public policies from the government. So, the idea of biodiversity must be applied to any business combination; we need to look for different perspectives. So, I think that the word is how to create solutions with diversity—not only biological diversity but cultural diversity. And I think this is the key to this work.” Marcelo Salazar
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE FOREST ARE THE BEST PEOPLE TO MANAGE THE FOREST AND PERSEVERE AND REGENERATE
Indigenous communities are essential in preserving and regenerating the Amazon. Their sustainable practices yield nutrient-rich ingredients while also providing crucial environmental monitoring services.
”We need to combine the ingredients and the environmental services those communities play for the world. For example, when indigenous people go to the jungle to collect Brazil nuts, they deliver nuts with protein, good fat, selenium, and other properties. But besides that, while he’s collecting the Brazil nuts, he’s monitoring the territory. He can see if there is an invasion. He can see if there is something wrong going on; they can see if there are changes in the forest because of climate change, and so on. And this is a service that nobody pays for. So, we are trying to set up some environmental services payments together with the ingredients and production.” Marcelo Salazar
”And collecting these Brazil nut forests—the rubber tappers or the indigenous people—they generate positive externalities for the country and for the planet. For example, when they are conserving the forest, the forest is contributing to climate regulation to avoid greenhouse gases entering the environment, and nobody pays for it. So, what we are trying to do in the Mazô Maná business model is to capture these different values and put them inside the pack we sell, so the communities can get money from the ingredients they sell, which is not cheap, but also get money from carbon credits, biodiversity credits, and so on, projects that we are supporting to develop as well.” Marcelo Salazar
OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED
Koen, Marcelo and Zé also talked about:
- Focus less on monoculture reforestation and more on preserving what is left of the standing forest
- The Amazon rainforest is a managed forest, basically a giant agroforestry system
LINKS:
- Mazô Maná
- Kachava
- Amazon Fund
- Hyperdominance in the Amazonian Tree Flora
- Michael Heckenberger – University of Florida Amazon Rainforest
- Willeam Baley Tulane university
- Eduardo Góes Neves University of Sao Paolo
LINKED INTERVIEWS:
- Fernando Russo – From selling Playboy’s to growing coffee, cacao, credit and lots of cows
- Antonio Nobre – If nature were a bank it would have been saved already
- Eduard Müller – Regenerative education is the answer, whatever the question was
- Felipe Pasini – Trees bring water so when in doubt plant more trees and complexify
- Coline Burland – Radical transparency, showing exactly how much farmer, maker and brand make is the key to consumer demand
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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.