The Acai Story

The Acai Story

The following is a sample story-board article about acai. As a specialist in acai images we can tailor stories to suit newspaper or magazine articles. We have a large range of images that are available for editorial use, and also have images for packaging and promotion. To view our stock images - click on Stock above, or read through the following pages to see the type of images we have.

	The elegant riverside palm Euterpe oleracea - Acai A riverside tree, the acai palm can be found throughout the state of Para in the nroth of Brazil - its natural home. It grows along riverbanks but also in areas prone to seasonal flooding. Attempts to develop the palm in other areas, or to create planatations within its habitat, have failed. So the palm remains in-situ and its fruit is harvested by families who sell what they do not need for themselves.
	Sr Eladin climbing an acai palm using a peconha The traditional, and practically only, method of retrieving ripe acai is to climb the tree. Harvesters used to make a peconha from acai palm leaf --- twisting the leaf into a figure of eight ---- to help maintain a firm grip of the trunk with their feet. Descent is much faster .... just a rapid slide down the length of the trunk. Sr Eladin, now in his 70´s, is keen to show his prowess in scaling a 20 metre acai palm.
	From remote river island communities The town of Boa Vista lies facing Ilha Grande on the furo de Benedito ... a waterway north of the River Guama, near the city of Belem. Villagers remove the acai from their panicles (on which the berries grow) on site. The fruit is then collected and taken to the nearest jetty where a small boat will carry the fruit to one of the markets in Belem.
	Ripe acai berries on panicle Each stalk on the panicle has about 20 berries. Each panicle has up to 50 stalks. The berries are normally stripped from the panicles at the point of collection, placed in baskets, and the full baskets placed in a boat for transport to the wholesale market.
	To the wholesale market at Belem port During the night boats arrive at Belem port to offload baskets of acai. Like an army of ants the loaders will remove baskets from the boats, stack them on the cobbled market, and take back the empty baskets after the fruit has been sold. By 8.00 am the market is near empty ... the best acai has been sold and is on its way to the outlets, and the loaders head off for breakfast, or to sleep.