Ybá Project | Conservation that Transforms – DOW

WHAT IS IT

The “Ybá Project – Conservation that Transforms” was launched in 2021 with an investment of R$1 million from the Dow Business Impact Fund, an impact fund program of Dow and the Dow Foundation. Since then, it has promoted the development and qualification of a cooperative in the Vila Mamorana community, in the municipality of Breu Branco, Pará, through marketing of non-timber resources, while contributing to the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest. Composed mostly of black and brown women, the association received training to carry out sustainable management and conservation of the biodiversity of more than 38 thousand hectares of native forest that Dow maintains on site.

The Ybá Project is being carried out with four major collaborators: the Peabiru Institute, The Nature Conservancy, the Natura brand, part of the Natura & Co group, and Univar Solutions, Dow's strategic partner in the distribution of specialty chemicals.

In 2024, Ybá was selected by the Dow Foundation's Impact Fund to receive a continuing investment. With this new funding, Dow and the Peabiru Institute will be able to improve working conditions, upgrade local facilities, and install additional resources.

RESULTS AND OBJECTIVES

The Ybá Project pilot was completed in March 2023. In this first phase, approximately 100 kg of andiroba seeds were collected by 21 community members in Dow's forest area. The seeds were sent to the Cofruta cooperative, which extruded the oil for use in Natura's personal care products.

Also in March 2023, Dow launched the Honey/Meliponiculture project as part of the Ybá Project. Through this initiative, the Vila Mamorana community is raising stingless bees native to the Amazon Rainforest to produce honey, generating an additional sustainable income opportunity for families in the region. In total, 50 beehive boxes were installed during the project's implementation.

In addition to training from the Vila Mamorana Farmers Association in the seed harvesting process, the community received training in business skills, safety, such as first aid, and seasonal plant/environmental cycles, all essential for harvesting and selling seeds safely.

SDGs

• • 8. Decent work and economic growth
  • 11. Sustainable cities and communities
  • 12. Sustainable Consumption and Production

International Commitments
Paris Agreement

National Commitments
Brazilian Forest Code I Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm)