Our Mission
Promote a skill that generates income and enables environmental stewardship

Through the Amazomel project, NTFP promotes organic stingless beekeeping that generates a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative income for rainforest residents. The bees are a vital source of pollination to fuel the varied flora of the rainforest, contributing to biodiversity, while their honey and its derivatives (pollen and propolis) are important food and medicinal products in the local culture, which the beekeepers can consume, transform, or sell. In so doing, rainforest communities no longer resort to destructive practices like cutting trees to raise cattle or working in dangerous industrial forestry concerns.

With Amazomel, NTFP aims to create a replicable model that can help other rain forest communities save their ancestral homes and preserve these ecosystems for all of us who rely on their unparalleled contribution to staving off the ravages of climate change.

Goals

More money for
communities

Provide an alternative, inclusive, and sustainable income source to indigenous peoples and local communities enabling them to be financially empowered (More money for communities).

More bee
in tree

Preserve Amazon biodiversity, especially native stingless bees, by expanding meliponiculture & beekeeping activities within Indigenous peoples and local communities (More bees in trees).

More impact in
your honey

Save the Amazon rainforest, from tipping to a carbon source, by supporting ecosystem restoration & forest cover through respectful & organic management of native stingless bees (More impact in your honey).

Our Vision
Eliminate poverty while preserving the rainforest

NTFP Foundation aims to bring its successful Amazonel model of forest-preserving, environmentally-sustainable economic development to other communities and countries. In Brazil, the more than 450 families participating in the venture have doubled their annual incomes. To scale this impact and benefit to other climate-critical ecosystems and populations, the Foundation is exploring possible engagements with additional indigenous peoples and local communities in Brazil, Peru, and Uganda. In so doing, NTFP Foundation seeks to create a global network of thousands of forest guardians in the global south while providing safe, meaningful employment, self-sufficiency, and financial independence to millions of individuals.

Our Team & Values

Management Team

Founder, Board president
NTFP, forest engineer (ETH)

As a Swiss forestry engineer, Dieter’s passion for the Amazon was so profound that it drove him to seek ways to preserve the rainforest while providing a sustainable source of income for its inhabitants. Co-founder of the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) Foundation, he has played a crucial role in funding the honey factory, donating beehives, and promoting beekeeping courses in various local communities in the Amazon. For over two decades, he has made annual visits to the rainforest as part of this enduring commitment. “My wish is for the people of the Amazon to live a decent life, generating sustainable income through beekeeping.”

CEO Amazonel,
biologist

Founder of Amazonel, João is a biologist and agricultural technician with a deeply rooted passion for meliponiculture, a practice to which he has devoted over 23 years of his life. His extensive experience includes participation in numerous significant meliponiculture projects in the northern region of Brazil, where his expertise and dedication have been instrumental in advancing the field. In addition to being a recognized expert in stingless bee farming, João is a strong advocate for sustainable meliponiculture among riverine families. Always looking toward the future, he works tirelessly to transform predatory honey extraction practices into sustainable methods, providing not only an alternative income source for these communities but also promoting the conservation of local biodiversity.

CFO, Quality Manager
Amazonel, biologist

Dangela, a biologist and agricultural technician, is one of the key figures on the Amazonel team. Dedicated to the study and practice of meliponiculture, she has led numerous innovative projects focused on increasing the productivity of stingless bee honey. Through her scientific expertise and unwavering commitment to sustainable methods, Dangela has developed techniques that have not only significantly improved honey production but also ensured the health and well-being of bee colonies. Her work is a cornerstone of Amazonel’s mission to intertwine superior quality with environmental responsibility, solidifying our position as leaders in ethical and sustainable honey production.

Projects Manager Amazonel
&IMA,biologist

Melipona-bee expert IMA

ADVISORS

Professor Emeritus, Earth
System Modeling, UniBern

St.Gallen Institute of
Management in Latin America

The Amazonel community consists of 472 rain forest families, all along the Amazon River, within a perimeter of 640km from Manaus

What are Amazonel Core Values?

COMMUNITY

Proximity to rural & indigenous people, sense of belonging, sharing a common story

RESPECT

Respect of Amazonas natural beauty & equilibrium, Well-being of local communities & ecosystems, Respect of rural and indigenous communities culture and ancestral knowledge, Respect of customers health

ADVENTURE

A journey through the jungle, through human relationships, through self-discovery, through regenerative economy

Amazomel's Mindset: Steward Leadership

Interdependence

Dieter, Joao & Dangela think

way bigger than themselves.

They fully understand that no

individual or organization can

succeed or be safe in isolation

in today’s highly connected

and interdependent world.

That’s why Amazonel is

convinced about the power of

inclusive collaboration, just as

Nature works. Amazonel

shares a holistic &

multi-dimensional

understanding of

sustainability and consider

every single stakeholder

through valuable and

trust-based relationships. At

Amazonel, “everything is

connected”: Melipona culture

& forestation, community

prosperity & woman

empowerment, financial

development & good health.

Long-term viewce

Driving inclusive win-win-win

growth is a marathon rather

than a sprint. Healthy, resilient

and purpose-driven

socio-economic development

takes time. This requires a

long-term approach, willing to

forego short-term gains if

these quick wins jeopardize

long-term sustainable growth.

Amazonel’s beekeeping

activities are aligned with

nature’s pace, 100% organic

and turned towards a truly

authentic vision of

reempowering local

communities by safeguarding

Amazon rainforest.

Ownership Mentality

 Amazonel Management

Team don’t wait for nature to

change or opportunities to

come: they take proactive

responsibility to make

stewardship happen. We

recognize the level of intensity

and urgency of the

environmental crises, and we

take ownership to this

universal challenge by

contributing at our scale,

promoting collaboration

between Global South &

Global North, and spreading a

spirit of initiative.

Creative Resilience

Building a new

socio-economic model in the

middle of the jungle isn’t as

smooth a ride as Amazon’s.

Developing a new

socio-economic model in the

middle of the jungle isn’t as

smooth a ride as Amazon. It

requires creativity to get

around the pitfalls, but above

all resilience in the face of

external factors such as

drought or heat waves.

Amazonnei is constantly

seeking to improve its

technological and operational

processes, and to adapt its

logistics to unforeseen

circumstances to guarantee

beekeeping activities.

Amazomel 5 Key Principles

#1

Transparency

We communicate transparently and measure the effects of our activities

#2

Knowledge-sharing

We promote environmental education and scientific practices

#3

Quality

Our products are certified to have the highest quality

#4

Accountability

We hold us accountable for what we do & are aware of sustainability-related challenges

#5

Impact

We strive to maximize positive impacts for every pole of sustainability

Image hover effect image

Leonson Sateré-Mawé Community Chief

" With the help of Amazonel & NTP, we are now able to multiply and diffuse bee's boxes within our community to increase our involvement and expand the partnership. This helps a lot not only our population, but also other communities in the territory of Andira-Marau. Our vision for the future is to expand even more in other rivers part, so that we can strengthen our own source of revenue in the entire indigenous land."

Seoni Sateré-Mawé Beekeeper

I've seen a difference since I'm working with Amazonel because stingless bees are really important, they favorize our plantation of medicinal plants. It is a sustainable way to make money and save the forest.

Our Journey

Founded in 2002 by Swiss Forester, Dieter Bratschi, NTFP began to supply beehives to interested families to help keep their beloved forest home intact, while promoting pollination that keeps the biodiverse flora and fauna of this vital ecosystem thriving.

Dieter’s love of Brazil and the rain forest began with his first visit to the region as a young Master’s student at the renowned ETH University in Zurich. His passion for the local culture and the wonders of the jungle inspired him to devote his expertise to ensuring the sustainability of both. NTFP began raising funds to provide starter hives, training in organic beekeeping, and technical assistance to the new beekeepers, who sold the honey and its pollen and propolis locally. They also enjoyed it for its nutritional and medicinal properties.

In 2020, Amazomel was created to take on local collection, administration, and sales. In 2022, NTFP and the local Amazomel team opened a newly constructed, federally certified honey processing facility in Manaus, Brazil. Since then, the Amazomel team on the ground has been processing the honey to ensure that it meets all purity standards for local and export sale.

Thanks to this successful Swiss-Brazilian partnership, 472 Amazonas rain forest families and 4 employees in Manaus are supported with fair incomes, safe work, and the pride that comes from saving one of the most important ecosystems in the world. That is just the beginning! In the years ahead, NTFP plans to expand the Amazomel model within Brazil and to other at-risk forest areas in South America and Africa, creating a purpose-driven network of thousands of forest stewards.

Roadmap & Milestones

Or Bussines Model

NTFP Foundation: Enabling a pragmatic, multifocal approach to
economic and environmental wellbeing for rainforest

The Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP) Foundation was founded in 2002 by Dieter Bratschi, an ETH-educated Swiss forester and passionate advocate for the Amazon rain forest and its residents since his first visit to Brazil as a Master student over 30 years ago.

Then, as today, Dieter saw a clear problem: Rain Forest communities – the traditional stewards of the land – were struggling to secure sustainable subsistence livelihoods. In so doing, many were turning to cattle-raising, dangerous jobs in industrial forestry, or leaving the forest altogether to find work in nearby cities. He saw the rain forest & a culture at risk.

Dieter and NTFP Foundation began to explore projects that would drive this “triple win,” and Amazomel was born in 2020. NTFP Foundation provides funding to establish organic beekeeping practices with the stingless Melipona bee (which is native to the rain forest) with starter hives, training, and technical assistance. In 2022, NTFP built a certified honey processing facility in Manaus to ready the honey for local and export sale.

NTFP funds essential infrastructure, training, start-up material, and technical assistance to create local entrepreneurs in the set-up of their beekeeping enterprises. The result: local entrepreneurs generate food and medicinal products for their own use or sale without harming the ecosystem they treasure. Further, the program broadly contributes to 8 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Operating Model

A pragmatic, hybrid business model with an upside-down value chain
that favors local entrepreneurs

The project aims to turn the established value chain “upside down” and ensure that most of the economic gains flow back to the rainforest and indigenous communities through higher honey prices; to the local employees of Amazomel in the form of higher salaries; and to local businesses in terms of acquired goods and services.

At the same time, NTFP will provide guidance to ensure that proper reserves are established to mitigate the effects of drought, fires, and other natural or manmade events that compromise the wellbeing of the bees, colonies, and honey supply, as well as plan for essential upgrades and expansion of the Manaus processing facility.

UPSTREAM ALONG THE AMAZON

#1

Amazomel and IMA provide beehive starter kits to local and indigenous communities (producers)

#2

Amazomel sends team members to the producers to assist in harvesting the honey

#3

Amazomel purchases harvested honey at a price of X% above the local market price from the producers

#4

Harvested honey gets transported to the processing facility “Casa do Mel”

PROCESSING AT
“CASA DO MEL”

#5

Employees receive, document, inspect, quality control and process harvested honey

#6

We hold us accountable for what we do & are aware of sustainability-related challenges

DOWNSTREAM

#7

Amazonel senior team members visit farmers’ markets and food conventions to establish relationships and network of local and national retailers

#8

A dedicated team at NTFP in Switzerland assists Amazonel in securing funding and in preparing logistics for international export to selected DTC and B2B partners

GRAPHIC I: AMAZOMEL OPERATING MODEL WITH THE
BASE/INITIAL SERVICES AND OFFERINGS

Sources

  • Chidi & Odo, 2017 – Meliponiculture for sustainable economy (1st Study)
  • Rozman et al., 2022 – A Comprehensive Review of Stingless Bee Products (2nd Study)
  • Nogueira, 2023 – Overview of Stingless Bees in Brazil (3rd Study)
  • Ramalho, 2004 – Stingless bees and mass flowering trees in the canopy of Atlantic Forest: a tight relationship (4th Study)
  • Toledo-Hernandez et al., 2022 – The stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponi): a review of the current threats to their survival (5th Study)
  • Athayde, Stepp & Ballester, 2016 – Engaging indigenous and academic knowledge on bees in the Amazon: implications for environmental management and transdisciplinary research (6th Study)
  • De Sousa Silva et al., 2023 – Socioeconomic aspects of meliponiculturists in the Amazon: challenges for the effective creation of stingless bees aiming at the maintenance of environmental and ecosystem services (7th Study)
  • Da Costa et al., 2021 – Meliponiculture in Amazonas: Challenges for maintenance of environmental services, sustainability and well-being of rural communities (8th Study)
  • De Souza Oliveira, 2020 – Etnobiologia das Abelhas Nativas do Brasil nas Etnias Kaiabi, Kayapo, Xavante e Guarani (9th Study)
  • De Andrade, 2014 – Caracterização de Morfologia Floral de Espécies Visitadas por Meliponas de Criação em Parintins, Estado do Amazonas (10th Study)
  • Patel et al., 2020 – Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development (11th Study)
  • Khan, 2023 – Review of the Role of Bees as Ecosystem Engineers in Nature
  • Grütter, 2020 – Stingless Bees – Their Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution (Book)
  • Ayala, Gonzalez and Engel, 2013 – Pot-Honey – A legacy of stingless bees (Book 2) – Chapter Mexican Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Diversity, Distribution, and Indigenous Knowledge
  • Tetra Native Bee Blog – Native Stingless Bee Honey vs Manuka: a comprehensive comparison, 14.02.2024
  • Instituto Peabiru, 2015 – The Amazon, pollination and the Peabiru Institute – A quick view about the Amazon and its socioenvironmental challenges