TALYBE is an Eco Bio and Fair Trade line produced by Pierpaoli for an Italian network of Fair Trade Organisations: Mondo Solidale, Liberomondo, Equomercato and Fair. www.talybe.it – www.mondosolidale.it
THE PROJECT
ASSEMA
The TALYBE detergents project has a Brazilian partner: ASSEMA, an organization based in the State of Maranhão, Brazil, in the pre-Amazon area. Here thousands of peasant women – the so-called “quebradeiras de coco babaçú” ( babaçú nut splitters) - work together in areas threatened by the environmentally devastating action of multinationals and large landowners; they make a dignified living out of their work, at the same time defending the land and the environment (particularly the babaçú palm).
The Babaçu Nat
The babaçú palm grows mainly along the edge of the Amazon river basin, in the Brazilian states of Maranhao, Pará, Piauí and Tocantins. It is considered the “tree of life” because it ensures the survival of millions of people living in secondary forest areas.
Each and every part of this tree has an economic value: the trunk and branches are used in construction (for house frames and to thatch roofs), the fibres to make wicker handicrafts and the leaves as soil fertilizers, but it is the fruit that becomes a most vital resource, as it contains valuable nutrients both for humans and animals.
A privatized and devastated forest
With the construction of the notorious Transamazonian roads in the 1960s began the systematic destruction of the Amazon forest and the licensing of lands to huge livestock farms. The expansion of cattle rearing, accompanied or preceded by the felling of trees, allowed for wholesale settling in vast areas of the Amazon. The first consequence was not only the disruption of the environment but the worsening of living conditions for those native rural populations whose survival depends on the sustainable use of natural resources.
Babaçu Livre
To ensure that rural families can stay in their own territory and to reduce their exodus to town and city areas, farmers organizations have been fighting for years to grant free access to babaçú palms, both in public and private lands. After a long period of claims and struggle, in some municipalities of the state of Maranhao a law was passed – the so-called “Babaçù livre” act – which guarantees the free gathering of fruit while forbidding the cutting down of trees and the use of pesticides.
THE PROJECT’S SOCIAL VALUE
This is a pilot project which has aroused much interest both in Brazil and in the international fair trade and sustainable development networks, because it focuses on important issues such as addressing the problem of the exploitation of natural resources, conservation, supplying alternatives to migration from rural areas, promoting gender equality and defending ethnic minorities. In order to support and further develop the manufacturing and sale of fair trade detergents, TALYBE project’s future plans include action in social areas such as helping improve workers efficiency and organization, giving them technical and cooperative training, designing advertising and informative material about the babaçú’s organoleptic, health, environmental and social properties
TALYBE PRODUCT LINE
FAIR TRADE
The surfactants are obtained processing the babaçú oil produced in Brazil by the “Cooperativa dos pequenos produtores agroextrativistas de lago do Junco” – Coppalj – Maranhao associated with Assema – www.assema.org.br.
The essential oils come from the Indian Organization named Phalada – www.phaladaagro.com - and from the Tanzanian Company named ZASPO.
Both are Fair Trade companies.
ORGANIC
All products are certified by the an independent Italian body for organic product certification which guarantees the respect of environmental standards and the origin of raw materials: ICEA – www.icea.info
STOP ANIMAL TESTING
All products comply with the international standard “Stop Animal testing”.
EFFECTIVE
All detergents undergo performance tests and are guaranteed as being equally or more effective compared to similar products on sale.
DELICATE
All detergents have been tested by Chelab at the Padua University’s Clinica Dermatologica to ensure they do not irritate the skin. Cosmetics are nickel tested and they are also tested on sensitive skins.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE
HOUSE CLEANING
• Laundry detergent
• Dishes detergent
• Floors detergent
• Gel dishwasher
• Spray for bathroom cleaning
WELLNESS
• Shower Gel: Oriental with Orange&Cinnamon; African with Vanilla&Ginger; Mediterranean with Citrus.
• Shampoo (dry hair; greasy hair; normal hair)
• Liquid Soap
• Intimate Cleanser
