Urso de Óculos

The unique Carbon Neutral Tourism programme in Itacaré lets you contribute directly to the survival of the very rainforest you see during your holiday here.

And to celebrate the programme’s first birthday we’ve set up a brand new section called The Green Shelf.

For every book sold in this section throughout January and February, a donation goes to the Carbon Social Fund, enabling new trees to be planted and helping traditional small scale farming families in Itacaré.

The region surrounding Itacaré is part of the remainder of the once prolific, now diminished, Atlantic Rainforest.  The forest is one of the attractions to visitors, but an increase in tourism, migration, and urban growth in recent years has also contributed to its destruction.

Last year I wrote here about Mecenas de Vida and its Carbon Neutral Tourism scheme, in which local businesses can apply for certification by “neutralizing” the carbon they use in their business operations, by supporting tree planting on rural lands owned and managed by local traditional small-scale farming families in the municipality of Itacaré itself.

The programme is now celebrating its first birthday, and the fund now supports 5 families in the Itacaré area with its Conservation Grant, with another 5 families working voluntarily. The financial resources from the fund enable the traditional farmers to produce and plant seedlings and trees to neutralize CO2 emissions whilst conserving the forest on their properties.

As a counterpart, the farmers must make various commitments in order to receive the the funds, as explained on the organization’s website.

Since the programme started at the beginning of 2009, 2.317 seedlings have been produced and planted.

So how can buying a book help?

For every book you buy from the Green Shelf at the bookshop in Itacaré, we will donate 5% of the sale to the Carbon Social Fund.

On the shelf are books about the rainforest, plants fruit, animals and birds in English and Portuguese. There are also books on sustainable tourism and environmental education. And to make it really easy for you to contribute to the Carbon Neutral Fund by buying a book, we’ve also included some literary fiction in English and Portuguese, too.

The shelf itself is made from a recycled dugout canoe, and some of the English books in this section are not available at any other bookshop in Brazil.

Plus! If you’re staying at one of the guesthouses participating in the programme, don’t forget you can use your Carbon Neutral Advantage Card here, too. More details on the Carbon Neutral Programme and other fascinating projects involving rainforest environmental education, please come and ask Sarah or Joice at the bookshop.