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Amazon tribe protects rainforest through coffee and tech
Less than half-a-century ago, first contact from the outside world was established with the indigenous Surui people of the Amazon rainforest. Ever since that fateful moment, the community has been facing an existential crisis as tree logging and mining companies seek to exploit their ancestral lands. Almir was just ten years-old when the loggers first arrived, but his fight to protect his people’s culture and territory has become a lifelong struggle for survival. At the age of 17, Almir Narayamoga Suruí was the first person from his tribe to attend college when he inherited the title of Leader of the Suruí Paiter Indigenous People from his father. He grew…
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Keeping it in the family
The Rast Kaffee roastery lies next to a train line in an industrial area on the outskirts of Ebikon, a small village near Lucerne in central Switzerland. Housed in a large warehouse, the imposing exterior conceals the passion that takes place inside. Neither is there any obvious front door to the roastery, rather an industrial-sized elevator that whisks you to the first floor that opens out into a vast production area framed by palettes stacked with sacks of green beans. The air is full of the rich aroma of freshly roasted coffee. With a beaming smile, the fourth generation in the family-run business, Beatrice Rast, introduces herself and starts…