The Araribóia Indigenous Territory site is found in the State of Maranhão, located in the transitional zone between the Amazon and the Cerrado forests. The native vegetation is classified as Amazonian Forest and is located within the limits of the Legal Amazon biome, home to diverse flora and fauna.

In 2015, a fire was caused by loggers that was considered the largest fire recorded in any indigenous land in Brazil. The Araribóia Indigenous Land, covering 413 thousand hectares, has already had more than 45% of its territory turned to ashes. Maranhão had the 4th highest rate of accumulated deforestation among the Amazon states between 1988 and 2016.

The Araribóia Indigenous Land has a population of 5,317 inhabitants, divided among three people groups: the Awa Guajá (Tupi-Guarani), the Guajá Awá isolated people group, and Guajajara (Tupi-Guarani – Tenetehara). The Guajajaras is one of the largest indigenous groups in Brazil. Due to the implementation of large commercial farms, deforestation, logging and fires have generated great food insecurity in the region. Rampant deforestation has made it challenging to maintain hunting, fishing, and traditional crops, limiting income generation.

Our team already planted over 1 million trees and 200 hectares were restored.