Forests of the World’s Coordinator for South America, Gry Errboe, Shares Insights into Her Work, Local Partnerships, and a Recent Trip to Bolivia – Including a Chance Encounter with a Jaguar.
Forests of the World runs several projects in Bolivia in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, aiming to secure their rights and support them in managing their forests sustainably. Gry Errboe, Forests of the world’s coordinator for work in South America, recently travelled across Bolivia, partly to prepare for the establishment of Forests of the World’s first local office in the country. During this trip, Gry visited several of the organisation’s projects alongside Elisa Canqui, Forests of the World’s new team leader for Bolivia. The purpose was to introduce Elisa to the projects, local partners, and Indigenous Peoples she will be working with.
Wild Cocoa and the Movima People
One of the areas Gry and Elisa visited is the territory of the Movima people. Like many other Indigenous Peoples, the Movima are fighting for the right to their ancestral lands. In 2009, a new constitution was introduced in Bolivia, placing greater emphasis on Indigenous Peoples rights, including their territorial claims. Consequently, the Movima people have applied to regain control of their traditional territory, which spans two million hectares. However, after prolonged negotiations with the government, they were granted only 60,000 hectares, fragmented across several separate areas—far from the size of their original territory.
The areas allocated to them include land along the Mamoré River, as these regions are not suitable for agriculture or cattle farming due to frequent flooding of the riverbanks. For the same reason, these lands are among the few that have not been taken over by private landowners. On the other hand, the forests along the river remain intact and are not only home to a wide variety of wildlife but also abundant in wild cocoa.
The flight over the forests of the Movima people and the Mamoré River on the way to the villages.
One advantage of wild cocoa is that the plants can withstand being submerged in water for a period. This resilience allows them to survive when, during the rainy season, the river overflows its banks and floods the surrounding areas—something that would destroy most other crops planted by people. “Especially now, as many Indigenous Peoples are struggling to adapt their livelihoods to the realities of climate change, the resilience of wild cocoa plants makes them a valuable resource for local communities,” explains Gry Errboe.
Shared Land and Collective Decisions
Gry Errboe explains that the Movima people maintain small subsistence farms in the villages where they live, growing crops primarily for their own consumption. While they use some of the wild cocoa themselves, there is often a surplus that can be processed and sold. The forests along the river thus provide not only a source of income but also an additional incentive to preserve them. Forests of the World supports the Movima people in producing high-quality fermented and dried cocoa through proper processing techniques, which are essential for achieving the best cocoa quality. At the same time, we help them access markets that offer better prices for their cocoa.
“We aim to support them in entering the international market for sustainably harvested wild cocoa. By helping the Movima community export their cocoa harvest, they can secure a significantly higher price than they would receive in local markets. The current challenge we are working to address with the locals is that they do not yet produce enough cocoa to sell their harvest to Original Beans. Original Beans is a company that sources sustainable and wild cocoa from small producers worldwide, with strict standards for sustainability and quality,” explains Gry Errboe.
One reason Indigenous Peoples struggle to gather a large enough harvest is that the forest areas are not easily accessible. In fact, they often have to travel several hours by boat along the river to reach large parts of the forest. To address this, Verdens Skove advises them on increasing their harvest by planting more wild cocoa closer to their villages, enabling them to make the most of their natural resources.
Gry, along with Verdens Skove’s partners and Indigenous Peoples members, travelled up the great river to visit forest areas rich in wild cocoa. During one of these boat trips, they were fortunate enough to spot a jaguar relaxing on the riverbank. The jaguar is native to the Movima people’s territory.
The process of harvesting and processing cocoa is just one part of creating an income from wild cocoa. For the project to be successful in the long term, the Indigenous People involved must decide how it should be managed, based on their own initiative and efforts. Together with our partners, we guide them on how to run a business, organize themselves, and manage resources. It is essential that they establish a financially sustainable enterprise with a business plan and clearly defined responsibilities.“They must collectively define and decide what should happen with their shared land. They hold collective rights to their territory, meaning they own it jointly. Therefore, they need to determine together how they want to manage and utilize it in the future,” explains Gry Errboe.
The expectation is that support from Forests of the World and our partners will only be needed until the projects are well-established. Gry explains: “Our collaboration with the Movima people includes not just setting up the projects, but also educating and guiding the locals so that they can independently continue the initiatives without our support. It is incredibly important that Indigenous Peoples are both independent and self-determining.”
Sustainable Income Adds Value to the Forest
Utilizing wild cocoa from the forests is crucial because it gives the forest value and provides even more reason to protect it and let it stand. The Movima people’s cocoa production is carried out with minimal impact on the forest. They allow the cocoa to grow naturally and simply venture into the forest to harvest the cocoa fruits during the season. In addition to cocoa, the forests offer opportunities to gather wild fruits and herbs, fish, and hunt.
Gry Errboe and Elisa also visited other Forests of the World projects in the country. Among other stops, they traveled to several villages in Monte Verde, where the Chiquitano people have their territories. Verdens Skove has several initiatives in collaboration with the Chiquitano people aimed at conserving forests, strengthening their rights, generating sustainable income from their forests, and restoring forest areas affected by wildfires. These fires are becoming more severe and frequent due to climate change and the encroaching agricultural industry. During their visits to various villages, Gry and Elisa also met with women’s groups that we support in creating sustainable income through the production of natural soaps and essential oils.
Gry Errboe konkluderer om sin rejse til Bolivia: “Det, jeg mest af alt tager med mig hjem fra denne rejse, er en bevidsthed om vigtigheden af vores arbejde. Alle de projekter, vi har i Bolivia, har stor betydning lokalt både for skovene og økosystemerne, og for de oprindelige folk, der har brug for vores støtte til at kunne forvalte skovene bedst muligt og udnytte dem på en bæredygtig måde.”
Gry Errboe concludes after her trip to Bolivia: “What I take home most from this journey is a greater awareness of the importance of our work. All the projects we have in Bolivia make a significant local impact, both for the forests and ecosystems and for the Indigenous Peoples who need our support to manage the forests as effectively and sustainably as possible.”
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Jonas Schmidt Hansen
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We work to preserve the world’s forests, both in Denmark and the world’s tropical forests.Our focus areas include sustainability, Indigenous Peoples and local engagement.