A Deep Dive Into Amazonia

John Elkington · 24 May 2025 · Leave a Comment

This past week, with a group including key people people from Generation Investment Management, Oxford University and Patagonia, I have enjoyed a deep dive into Natura‘s Amazonian supply chain. I plan to write up the (extraordinary) experience for my Substack ‘Rewilding Markets‘ series and for my new book. But, while they’re fresh in my mind, here are some images captured along the way.

*Our early morning Amazonian ferry awaits*

*Whatever the collective noun is for small boats*

*On arrival at a community in Abaetetuba, a spectacular breakfast awaits*

*Some of the Natura products based on local raw materials on display*

A kettle, looming, congregation or wake of *vultures*

*Abstract moment as we arrive back at the ferry dock*

*Louise goes to earth* at Aprocamp, a community farm at Santo Antônio do Tauá

A moment with Liliana, Louise, Aileen (in green) and Ines

*Standard transport – if slightly fancy*

*We all had a herbal bath – an extraordinary experience, a blessing*

*A soil restoring plant, though not sure what it is*

*Told I couldn’t eat a certain berry, I daubed my cheeks with it*

*Various forms of Christianity are everywhere*

*A rarer sight these days: A VW Beetle, once endemic in the country*

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_1589-1024x768.jpeg — *Nuts and seeds*

*A commercial stunt – and perhaps symbolising something a little different these days*

*Lunch is served – or at least some small part of it*

*Belém waterfront – where we would later watch bats hunting above the river*

*Different coloured petals on same plant*

*Mural 3 in Vila Madalena, billed as the graffiti capital of the world*

*Four feet: a wall painting’s and Aileen’s*

*A plastic installation at Farm Rio fashion store, Harmonia*

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I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

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