- The initiative, which takes place in the regions of Belém and Santarém, in the state of Pará, has the strategy of transforming local inputs, such as cocoa and cupuaçu, into products with high added value, such as chocolate;
- The Japanese multinational will contribute with its expertise in connectivity and with the provision of facial recognition technology, which will be used to manage people's access to the spaces and equipment of the creative laboratory.
Credit: Instituto Amazônia 4.0 website
NEC recently signed an understanding agreement with the Amazon Institute 4.0, responsible for developing technology for transforming Amazonian inputs, such as cocoa and cupuaçu, into products with high added value. In its work, the institute promotes a new bioeconomy with the protagonism of traditional and indigenous peoples, in order to guarantee cultural and environmental appreciation. The project in question is called Laboratório Criativo da Amazônia (LCA), spaces where the chocolates will be effectively produced bean-to-bar, that is, fine chocolates, thus stimulating the development of the local economy and entrepreneurship within these communities.
Conversations between the actors began in March 2021, when the Japanese multinational began to discuss with the Brazilian organization the possibilities of collaboration for the initiative. According to the established agreement, NEC, which is a world leader in the supply of technological solutions, will contribute with its expertise in networks in order to make possible the connection in the laboratory structures and also with the supply of a facial recognition solution, which will have the function to control people's access to the LCA environments, in addition to allowing only authorized people to operate the machines, reducing friction and reinforcing sanitary measures within the laboratory.
The president of NEC in Brazil, José Renato de Mello Gonçalves, points out that NEC's participation in this initiative is fully aligned with the company's values and the 2030 Vision, which brings together the long-term purposes and objectives with a focus on business and acting together the society. “One of the most important points in this partnership is the fact that we participate in this very inspiring project through the company's greatest strengths, which are the technical knowledge of our teams and the brand's cutting-edge solutions”, he emphasizes.
Empowering Amazon communities
The project, which began four years ago and will begin in January in the first community, Surucuá, located in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve. The laboratory has a structure in the shape of a geodesic dome, which will remain in each location for about two months. The work at the LCAs will initially be training and demonstrating the potential of the forest and its residents, for the development of the entire chain, from cocoa and cupuaçu harvesting, to almond manufacturing processes and chocolate making. and cupulate, up to the sale of the final product, with complete tracking of the production chain.
“We believe in the bioeconomy of sociobiodiversity, maintaining the greatest wealth that is the standing forest and the quality of life of the communities that fight for its conservation. Technology, especially with the resources of the fourth industrial revolution, is a decisive ally to make this new bioeconomy viable. Being able to count on the support of a company like NEC fills us with courage to continue in this fight alongside traditional communities”, says Ismael Nobre, executive director of Instituto Amazônia 4.0.
