ACL Cupuaçu-Cacao
WITH SUSTAINABLE AND TRANSPARENT PROCESSES, ACL CUPUAÇU-CACAO TRANSFORMS COCOA AND CUPUAÇU BEANS INTO FINE CHOCOLATES AND CUPULATES IN THE HEART OF THE AMAZON.
We immersed ourselves in the possibilities of the socio-biodiversity bioeconomy and Industry 4.0 and thus the CUPUAÇU-CACAU Amazon Creative Lab (ACL) was born. A training and proof-of-concept tool using Industry 4.0 technologies to produce high value-added products from socio-biodiversity inputs in the heart of the world’s largest rainforest. The laboratory is designed to boost the standing forest bioeconomy, which is much more profitable than traditional economic activities.
ACL CUPUAÇU-CACAU’s proposal is to train local communities to develop scalable production, proving the potential for processing the raw materials of cocoa and cupuaçu. These are chocolates, butters and cupulates that go straight to the end consumer in a chain that is 100% traceable, low carbon and supported by technologies from the 4th Industrial Revolution.
From January 2023, the ACL CUPUAÇU-CACAU is due to begin its journey to the Amazon. Its first stop will be the community of Surucuá, in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve, in the Santarém region.
Later it will move to the communities of Corpus Christi in the PA Moju II Agrarian Reform Settlement (BR-163), in the Moju-Miri quilombola territory on the Moju River and in the Acará-Açu riverine community on the Acará River. The three geodesic domes that characterize the ACL structure will be allocated to the laboratories, classrooms and services.
Within the laboratory space are the pre-processing areas, where the raw materials are brought in and stored. They then move on to the processing area, where the chocolate and cupulate manufacturing process begins. And finally, the manufacturing area, where the chocolate and cupulate will be finalized, packaged and stored in air-conditioned chambers.
ACL CUPUAÇU-CACAU in practice How we created the ACL CUPUAÇU-CACAU In three phases: design, development and training.
Phase 1
Design
Based on academic and field research, we chose chocolates and cupulates as the main products of ACL CUPUAÇU-CACAU. Between 2018 and 2020 we immersed ourselves in the value chains, technologies and manufacturing processes of both.
The results of this extensive and in-depth research led to the design model for the laboratory. The main conclusions were:
- Cupuaçu is underutilized in the Amazon. It serves the food and the cosmetics industries in value-added processes with no close connection to the producing regions. Cupulate, which would be the product with the highest added value, is practically not produced on a large scale;
- Cocoa is used in a way that is below its potential – low quality beans and sale as a commodity outside the Amazon. The production of cocoa for fine chocolate takes place in a few places and is the great potential identified for generating a strong economy.
Based on this, the CUPUAÇU-CACAU ACL has focused on proposing technological innovations for each stage of the chains. These are sequences of processes that make it possible to manufacture high value-added products locally.
Phase 2
Development
Construction and assembly of the Laboratory with solutions and developments in the areas of:
- architecture
- sanitation
- energy
- equipment
- software
- processes;
- educational material for training
To lead the technological transformations in equipment and processes, we have assembled a diverse and highly qualified team of engineers, chocolatiers, managers, biologists and specialized consultants.
Phase 3
Training
We took the ACL to the Amazon, implemented it and carried out training and demonstration exercises with around 40 people in each of the four communities. The teaching strategy is carried out at local events (towns, villages, settlements and other communities).
Who leads: a specialist in the production chain, a specialist in entrepreneurship and new businesses and a support technician in teaching and production.
The CUPUAÇU-CACAU ACL will be the first experience of the exclusive technology developed and tested by the Amazon 4.0 Institute. “We are happy and excited about the possibility of adding value to products from the heart of the forest in sustainable and transparent processes that are in tune with the communities,” says Ismael Nobre, Executive Director of the Amazon 4.0 Institute.
