Litoral Catarinense Butiá

Butiá (Butia catarinensis) is a small palm (less than 2 meters tall) that grows in the south of Brazil and produces a fruit similar to a small coconut. The color of the shell varies depending on the ripeness and the variety, and can be yellow, brown, green, orange, reddish-orange or bright red. Inside is a kernel, extracted by breaking the nut with a stone, which has a sweet-tart flavor and an intense fragrance.
The fruits are harvested between December and March, using a machete. Each picker can harvest an average of 200 kilos of fruit, which can be processed or sold as they are. During processing, the fruits are shelled, selected, cleaned and frozen. The kernels are then crushed mechanically into a pulp that is sold to ice-cream makers, restaurants and itinerant juice vendors. Most of the product, however, is consumed at home, used in many local specialties like cakes, jams, alcoholic beverages (cachaça) and cookies. The kernels can also be ground into flour.
Groves of the palm trees, known locally as butiazais, can be found across the Serra Mar Catarinense, a coastal area with a large lagoon complex that includes eight lakes and shoals of white sand. The landscape is characterized by dunes and an ecosystem known as restinga (a specific type of rainforest that develops in sandy areas close to sea).
This region is currently subject to intense property speculation, which has seen the construction of extensive infrastructure—like the port of Imbituba—and the spread of arson attacks. As a result, the butiazais have been significantly reduced, and the butiá palm has become a protected species, at risk of extinction. Added to this is a steep increase in demand for the fruits, which has led to the over-exploitation of resources, particularly by people coming in from other regions.