This organic yerba mate from Paraguay new brand that was created in 2016 with the aid of NGO Conamuri. It is one of the finest traditionally process brands you can find. It has a sweet smoked flavor that you can feel good about drinking everyday while your support small family producers.
Paraguay has experienced an economic boom during the last decade. It is the fourth-largest producer of soybeans and the sixth in beef. However, most of the rural population remains impoverished as the landowners in Paraguay accumulate a large portion of the wealth. Agribusiness is growing and big businesses are taking over the farming land. As a result, indigenous farmers have no means to defend their former livelihood. There is a massive exodus to urban areas, as indigenous people live in poverty, unable to return to farming.
The NGO Conamuri, empowers small-scale and subsistence farmers. It focuses on women in indigenous communities whose widescale agribusiness have been marginalized. Conamuri supports sustainable, fair-trade farming in various districts in the department of Itapúa, aiding small-scale Yerba farming in Paraguay since 2011.
Small-scale farming under the Conamuri program specializes in ecological farming techniques. They use no pesticides or agrochemicals and produce high-quality yerba mate. Training includes education on soil and treatment, sustainable fertilizers, marketing and commercialization. Then, families are ready to start producing Yerba Mate Onoiru, getting paid more than farmers under widescale yerba mate buyers. “Oñoiru is part of a movement looking to create a fairer model of society using our natural resources so that our young people can stay in their communities and have decent living and work conditions,” says Pedro Vega, general manager of Yerba Mate Onoiru.
