Kids in Brazil Scale 70-Foot Trees for Açaí Berries

At the port of Igarapé da Fortaleza, in the far north of Brazil, dock workers unload large orange-red sacks from small wooden boats. Small dark berries scatter around the dock, staining everything purple and making the pavement slippery. After being washed, processed, and blended, each sack will make about five gallons of açaí pulp that will go into bowls, smoothies, and freeze-dried supplements.

In Spring, when most fruit is not yet ripe, each 130-pound sack is being sold to wholesalers for about $80, more than double the price it sells for when it is in season. Buyers may or may not know that the superfood they are purchasing to sell to multinationals may have been picked by children — no one is checking.

Harvesters taking home eighty dollars may sound like a lot, but they still have to pay the "crossers" for boat transportation and the landowners for the trees they harvested. This industry used to be local, but now it's international, putting pressure on communities that rely on açaí for their livelihood.

The state of Pará, which produces most of Brazil's açaí, exported 39 tons in 2012 and 8,158 tons in 2022, making over $26 million. This growing demand has led to children being sent on risky journeys to harvest the fruit, climbing tall trees without safety gear and facing dangers like snakes, scorpions, and jaguars in the rainforest swamps.

Lucas Oliveira, a 13-year-old boy from the Fazendinha village outside Macapá, is one of the children who help support their family by picking berries. He attends school, but also assists his brother Wengleston in harvesting açaí to help feed their seven other siblings.

CNN had the opportunity to accompany Lucas and his brother on a typical harvest day in early March. The day started at 3am, as they made their way to a motorboat with a group of boys and young men. They crossed the Amazon river, the largest river in the world, and then took canoes to reach a private property where açaí palms grow in the wild.

Aged just 13, Lucas Oliveira is an açaí harvester.

Aged just 13, Lucas Oliveira is an açaí harvester.

Lucas strolled through the jungle, wielding a machete that was as large as his arm. He used it to cut through the thick leaves and branches, making way as he moved forward. While clearing the path, he made sure to glance upwards just as much as he looked straight ahead, keeping an eye out for any coconuts in the palm trees above. "I found some over here," Lucas exclaimed, dropping his tarp bag on the ground.

He tucked his machete into the waist of his shorts, and with a single jump wrapped his skinny legs around the trunk of a palm tree. He pulled himself up, scaling 20 feet up the palm before disappearing into the canopy. After some rustling, Lucas yelled, “It’s ripe!” The rustling increased, and leaves, sticks and tiny, rock-hard purple-black berries began to fall. Wengleston was pleased. “You got two!” Lucas slid down with two bunches of açaí, weighing about 10 pounds each. Lucas will do this dozens of times on a single day.

Wengleston, now 20 years old, dropped out of school when he was Lucas’ age to work full time. In these seven years, he’s developed serious back pain from carrying up to 200 pounds of açaí on his back daily. “One day I was lifting a sack and I felt that my back just ripped open,” Wengleston said. “Some days I can’t work because of all the pain, so I have to stay home.” He said he is afraid of losing more mobility soon, or ending up like other açaí harvesters who have developed back issues so severe they can no longer walk.

The jungle is filled with stories of harvesters falling from trees, with some suffering severe injuries that leave them unable to walk again. In these remote areas, getting help can take hours. During CNN's visit, a worker harvesting on a nearby island lost consciousness after falling from an açaí tree.

Açaí harvesters expose themselves to the perils of the rainforest.

Açaí harvesters expose themselves to the perils of the rainforest.

Julia Vargas Jones

Policing hard-to-reach locations

In 2022, a report from Brazil’s statistics bureau revealed that 1.9 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 were involved in child labor across the country. Among them, at least 756,000 were found to be working in what the International Labor Organization defines as the worst forms of child labor, which are considered to involve "dangerous" conditions.

One of the main challenges in addressing the issue of child labor is that the regions where it is most prevalent are the most difficult to monitor, according to authorities. These areas are often referred to as hard-to-reach locations, requiring a significant amount of effort and overcoming various obstacles to access, explained Allan Bruno, a prosecutor with Brazil’s Public Ministry of Labor.

Bruno emphasized their focus on the Marajó archipelago and the coastline of Amapá, where rural work primarily involves buffalo breeding and açaí harvesting. Their investigations specifically target the use and recruitment of children for such types of work.

Bruno is a member of a unique team made up of prosecutors, investigators, and federal police. They work together to look into cases that involve slavery-like conditions and conduct operations to rescue workers and children.

Dozens of times a day, Lucas Oliveira climbs trees to bring down heavy bunches of açaí.

Dozens of times a day, Lucas Oliveira climbs trees to bring down heavy bunches of açaí.

Julia Vargas Jones

Bruno explained that many of the people being rescued are often unaware that their rights are being violated. These individuals are typically marginalized in society, lacking access to education, healthcare, and other basic rights necessary for them to secure employment. As a result, they become targets for recruiters looking to exploit cheap labor.

He further noted that the system responsible for addressing these issues is plagued by inefficiency, understaffing, and a lack of resources. The scope of the problem is vast, making it difficult for authorities to effectively monitor and enforce labor laws. However, there are signs of improvement as the government has begun to prioritize this issue, with 900 job openings currently available for labor inspectors to help address these challenges.

Lucas will keep climbing tall trees for now, but there is hope for a better future. Authorities are paying more attention to his area, which means there may come a time when children no longer have to put themselves in danger to work and provide for their families.

Editor's P/S:

The article