NACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS update

Mate on the Market: Fair Trade and the Gaucho’s ‘Liquid Vegetable’ Part two in a series

By Teo Ballvé

hen eugenio kasalaba awoke on went to the morgue to identify their leader’s mu- March 24, 1976, in ’s north- tilated body. Kasalaba now holds the post once Weastern-most province of Misiones, occupied by Peczak. His biggest fear is no longer he and his father began the day with their usual the military; it’s the market. routine of heating water and turning on the ra- In the last 15 years, mate has quietly bloomed dio. But instead of the expected news program or into a multimillion-dollar global industry, with a an old tango, they heard an unmistakable sign of growing consumer base in Asia, Europe, North the coming terror: “Avenida de las Camelias,” the America, and the Middle East. International sell- Argentine military’s favorite marching-band song, ers are trying to position mate—packed with all across the radio dial, the same song. Stunned, vitamins and minerals, including more antioxi- Kasalaba muttered, “Papá, el golpe, el golpe” dants than green tea—as a healthy alternative to (Dad, the coup, the coup). Without coffee, with a milder caffeine buzz. taking his eyes off the radio, his father In the last 15 Meanwhile, a handful of initiatives are replied, “Come, let’s have a mate.” years, mate has banking on the organic and fair trade Even in the worst of times—or espe- markets as a way for small-scale mate cially in the worst of times—drinking quietly bloomed producers to make a sustainable living an infusion of yerba mate (pronounced into a multi- without damaging the environment. yer-bah MAH-tay) is a fixture of daily life Since commercial mate cultivation for many in Argentina, , , million-dollar began in the early 1900s, growers in , and southern . Drinking global industry. Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay—the the bitter, tealike beverage is usually a only countries where it is grown—en- collective ritual, a chance to relax and socialize. joyed hefty government support. As far back as In some areas, people carry thermoses of hot or 1935, the Argentine government began instating cold water for it like extra appendages. The water production controls, fixed prices, subsidies, and is poured into a mate-filled cup usually made from other assistance through the Yerba Mate Regula- a small, dried gourd, a serving method first passed tory Commission (Comisión Reguladora de la on by indigenous groups to the gauchos, the mes- Yerba Mate, or CRYM). For decades the CRYM tizo cowboys of Argentina’s rugged frontier days. provided a steady balance between large and The gauchos were the first to popularize mate, small producers. In 1991, however, the radical which they called their “liquid vegetable.” free market reforms introduced by President Car- Teo Ballvé is That morning when Kasalaba heard the dic- los Menem liberalized the mate industry and dis- NACLA’s Web editor. tatorship’s broadcast, he was a young member solved the CRYM. A journalist based in of the Misiones Agrarian Movement (MAM), an Suddenly unfettered, large mate companies , he edited, organization representing mate growers based seized the opportunity and dramatically in- with Vijay Prashad, in the town of Oberá. The military dictatorship’s creased production. The lack of government Dispatches From Latin America: first communiqué in the area called for the ar- regulation, together with overproduction, caused On the Frontlines rest of Pedro Oreste Peczak, the MAM’s secretary- a precipitous drop in prices. Before the 1991 re- Against Neoliberal- general, and his wife. Anyone found aiding the forms, a campesino with 25 acres could make ism (South End couple, the announcement added, would be ar- about $10,000 from the yearly mate harvest, but Press, 2006). rested. Eight months later, members of the MAM by 2001 the same yield garnered only $1,000. 10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 update

“In a lot of ways, the 1990s most sales are limited to were worse for the MAM socially oriented markets than the dictatorship,” says and fairs or specialty stores. Ramón Martín Enríquez, a When the Buenos Aires MAM member and former city government offered to detainee. In what he calls a buy 2,000 pounds of mate mass exodus, economically in 2003, Titryaju lost the displaced campesinos sold sale to a large company that their family farms to large offered the same amount for mate companies, which a few cents less per pound. were better equipped to ab- “Sometimes consumers are sorb the economic shock. unwitting accomplices to Although increasing con- the exploitation hidden be- centration of the mate in- hind lower prices,” a MAM dustry began in the 1980s, representative told a Buenos the neoliberal reforms were Aires newspaper. a tipping point. Today, four Kasalaba says small-scale companies control 80% of agricultural producers ought the national market. to establish a national In 2001, members of the organization capable of MAM launched their own regulating prices and pro- mate brand using the orga- viding financial and techni- nization’s commercial arm, Tending to mate seedlings in Argentina cal support to farmers. He the Cooperativa Río Paraná, adds that the government which groups together 50 mate-grow- hood assemblies, worker-run factories, should institute a “social quota” by ing families. They named it Titrayju, community dining halls, and barter signing a minimum number of pro- an abbreviated combination of tierra, clubs—became its consumer base. The curement contracts with organizations trabajo, y justicia (land, work, and jus- social upheaval allowed Titrayju to eas- representing small producers. tice). Along with providing a living ily fulfill its strategy of circumventing Until that happens, Titrayju is intent to its members, Titrayju also tries to all intermediaries and selling a value- on winning over Argentine customers make a minimal environmental im- added, finished product directly to the with what its producers say is a su- pact through organic production and consumer. The result was grassroots, perior, albeit slightly more expensive, other eco-friendly farming methods— word-of-mouth marketing. Titrayju product. And although Titrayju’s mate careful soil preservation, not cutting soon became known as the “yerba of follows the social and environmental down trees, and traditional process- the piqueteros,” as Argentina’s militant prescriptions of international organic ing—which are critically important unemployed workers are known. and fair trade standards, it is not of- in Misiones, a biodiversity hotspot. “I guess you can say that with the ficially certified as such. When asked A third of the province has been de- 2001 crisis, Titrayju became fashion- if they have considered selling Titrayju forested by clear-cutting, overgrazing, able,” Enríquez says, chuckling. “So- abroad, Kasalaba and Enríquez wave intensive agriculture, and heavy rains; cial organizations appropriated it as their hands dismissively. They have a most of the deforested area is now a symbol.” He adds that Titrayju en- hard enough time reaching Argentine permanently unproductive. couraged the movements to resell it to consumers, Enríquez says, and inter- Titrayju’s debut coincided with the “make a few cents” for themselves. national sales involve too much bu- dramatic collapse of Argentina’s neo- But since the election of left- reaucracy and expensive certifications. liberal political and economic system. leaning president Néstor Kirchner, Yet the following years proved to be Titrayju has fallen on hard times. erba mate (ilex paraguariensis) boom times for the brand. The unprec- “It’s been really hard for us lately, is a shrubby tree, not an herb, edented network of social movements because all those organizations that Y as the Spanish word yerba in that exploded across the country after supported us so much simply disap- its name would suggest. It is native to

TEo Ballvé the collapse—including neighbor- peared,” Enríquez laments. Today, the south Atlantic rain forest, a once 11 NACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS update

vast chain of ecosystems on come to pay a visit, with a the eastern fringe of South huge lunch of various barbe- America that covered 5 mil- cued meats. Werle, with his lion square miles. Only 8% of white-blond hair and deep the forest remains intact. blue eyes, looks typical of In the 17th century, the the northern European–de- Guaraní and smaller indige- scended settlers of Argenti- nous groups introduced mate na’s old northeastern fron- to Jesuit missionaries, who tier. When the Werle family initially spurned the drink and began working with Guayakí banned it. Later realizing they in 2002, they started trans- could profit from mate, the forming their farm into a Jesuits encouraged its cultiva- shade-grown mate producer, tion in their missions, which a process that will continue dotted the modern-day tribor- for three more years. der region shared by Argenti- “Our mate fields had been na, Brazil, and Paraguay—the totally abandoned for years, heart of the Guaraní’s historic because mate wasn’t worth territory and the center of the anything, so it was organic modern mate industry. by default, but worthless,” A small company called Werle remembers. “Then Guayakí leads one of the New Age appeal: Guayakí mate is aimed at wealthy, health-conscious Alex [Pryor] came with his pioneering fair trade and North Americans, with flavors like Pure Mind and Empower Mint. offer.” The family maintains organic mate efforts in the a meticulous handwritten area. The founders named the com- and Mate Chai Latté concentrates. Its log that documents, parcel by parcel, pany after the local Aché Guayakí, a marketing relies heavily on New Age the native trees they’ve planted over tiny indigenous group on the Para- appeal with drink names like Pure the years. “We’re really helping the guayan side of the border. In 1996, Mind and Empower Mint. environment by having native trees Argentine Alex Pryor was still a food In its promotional material, Guay- shadow our mate,” Werle says. “And science major at Cal Poly university akí calls itself a “mission-driven” economically, at least so far, we’ve in San Luis Obispo, California, when company that “strives to work directly done pretty good.” he met Califronian David Karr, who with growers” in creating “economic The 60-acre farm lies within El studied business. Pryor persuaded models that drive rainforest restora- Yaguareté Wildlife Refuge established his friend to help him build a mate tion while paying a living wage.” The by the Fundación Vida Silvestre Ar- company. company owns no land, relying on gentina, a local affiliate of the World From its humble start in a Volkswa- a handful of growers in Argentina, Wildlife Fund. El Yaguareté, which gen van, Guayakí has expanded across Brazil, and Paraguay who earn twice means jaguar in Guaraní, buffers the the hemisphere. It has a Buenos Aires the going market rate for convention- Argentine side of the park made fa- office in charge of purchasing the ally grown mate. It also pays all its mous by the massive Iguazú Falls. mate as well as the company’s social growers’ organic and fair trade certifi- Guayakí prefers working with grow- and environmental initiatives. Its cation costs. At harvest time, the com- ers in areas near national parks and other office in San Luis Obispo takes pany holds workshops to train field wildlife preserves—zones considered charge of processing, packaging, sales, workers in organic methods, and it high priority for conservation. By and marketing. Although its products requires insurance and social security providing an economic incentive for are available only in North America, benefits for any contracted workers. reforestation and conservation to its

Guayakí is hoping to expand into In Andresito, a tiny Argentine mate growers, the company tries to on Europe soon. The company caters to town near the Brazilian border, mate create buffer zones and wildlife corri-

North American palates with a creative farmer Alfonso Werle and his family dors near ecologically sensitive areas. t t horn product line, including flavored iced greet Guayakí’s quality-control spe- The Werles’ first organic harvest t y

mate in bottles, as well as Mate Latté cialist, Raúl Bernardo Kölln, who has came in 2004. With the money, they chris 12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 update

bought a pickup truck and later took try is paved with more than 5 million Guayakí has concentrated its ef- a vacation—their first—to Buenos acres of it. forts on a still expanding base of Aires. Alfonso’s wife, Gladys, proudly The Kue-Tuvy Aché have exclusive international consumers. In North shows a small photo album of the fam- hunting rights inside the Mbaracayú America and Europe, the company ily vacation in “the big city.” Turning preserve, and they use the forest for is trying to tap an existing base of to the last page, she adds, “The next most of their subsistence needs. But wealthy, health-conscious buyers harvest money is mine. This time, I’ve they still need cash for buying finished who are accustomed to paying a pre- decided we need a new house.” products and for making community mium. The company’s concern for improvements. The Guayakí project is small producers and the environment bout 240 miles across the intended to provide a revenue stream seems genuine, if a bit romanticized border from the Werles, in that does not require the Aché to leave and purposefully exotic for market- A eastern Paraguay, lies Kue- the community. ing to foreigners. When asked why Tuvy, an Aché Guayakí community of Although cultivating mate is new they don’t also sell their products lo- 40 families on the edge of the Mbara- to Kue-Tuvy, the plant has long been cally, Kölln responds, “Consumers in cayú Biosphere Preserve. Five years part of the Ache’s ethobotanical rep- Argentina don’t have that culture of ago, after Kue-Tuvy’s residents broke ertoire. Their first mate harvest will paying more for something because away from a larger group of Aché not be for another two years, but al- it was produced in a certain way.” families, Guayakí representatives ap- ready the question of how the profits Titrayju is realizing this the hard proached the community with a pro- will be spent is causing controversy way. Since most social organizations posal for them to organically cultivate in the community. When Guayakí’s created during the 2002 upheaval mate beneath the rainforest canopy. Garay recently visited Kue-Tuvy, have either dissolved or been co- According to Nelson Garay, Guayakí’s most of the community was out in opted by the government, the small head of production in Paraguay, “They the jungle hunting, trailed by a docu- company is struggling to stay afloat. left the other group because these mentary film crew. Chachugi, a com- In its heyday, Titrayju’s cooperative Aché [from Kue-Tuvy] wanted to be munity leader not closely involved was arguably helping far more fami- more traditional, to take better care with the Guayakí project, com- lies than Guayakí, but it has come up of the environment. They didn’t agree plained to Garay that he feared the against that ever-stubborn guardian with selling timber to loggers.” two community members hired by of capitalist economics: price. With The community has since planted Guayakí to lead the mate project the spirit of solidarity now a faint 40 acres of mate without cutting would squander or steal the money. memory, most Argentine consumers down a single tree. The coming har- Garay tried to assuage his concerns still follow the bottom line. vests will yield badly needed income and promised to return when the en- for the Kue-Tuvy Aché, who are pre- tire community was present to hold a dominantly hunter-gatherers. “It pro- meeting about managing the funds. vides an alternative to the monocul- “But I’m not here to tell them how ture you can see all around us: soy, to spend the money,” Garay says. “I’m cotton, corn,” Garay says. not here to act like their father. I am Indeed, Kue-Tuvy’s lush 12,000 just going to suggest ways to make sure acres is a rainforest island amid an the money is spent in a transparent agro-industrial sea of soy. Over the manner so that the entire community decades, through a cycle of agricul- benefits and has a say.” tural booms, eastern Paraguay has According to Raúl Kölln of Guay- progressively lost its native forest to akí, despite a number of fair trade monoculture—almost 23 million and organic mate projects in the This article originated from a winning acres since 1940. Soy is the latest area, their collective market share is proposal for the AVINA Investigative boom. Acreage devoted to it grew merely “a grain of sand, a tiny one, in fivefold in the last decade, and soy a huge market.” He continues, “It’s a Journalism Grant. The AVINA agribusiness now accounts for half niche that is just beginning, but we’re Foundation assumes no the country’s exports and 10% of its betting that it will keep growing and responsibility for its contents. GDP. The eastern half of the coun- that organic will take a larger share.” 13