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From the cacay, a nut that grows in the Amazon rainforest, an oil is extracted that sells for hundreds of dollars an ounce and is used in products from brands such as L’Oreal and Procter & Gamble’s Olay.
For centuries, the inhabitants of the Colombian Amazon did not pay much attention to the cacay nut. They used it to feed their livestock, treat wounds and turned their trees into firewood. But then, a few years ago, the world’s high society discovered the cosmetic benefits of the oil from this protein-rich nut. And suddenly, cacay became a sought-after commodity, the key ingredient in anti-aging facial creams that can fetch $200 an ounce in the beauty salons of Los Angeles and London. Although most of the seeds come from wild trees in remote areas, new plantations are appearing in impoverished regions of Colombia that were previously better known to cocaine and rebel groups. Vitaliano Ordóñez, a farmer who used to give the nuts to his cows, sold eight of his animals to buy 120 saplings. Since few have reached maturity to produce this year, he collects as much seed as he can from two old trees on his farm in Puerto Rico, Colombia, 300 kilometers southeast of Bogotá. “I will not let a single one go to waste,” Ordóñez said. Each cacay, the size of an apple, contains three seeds. He expects to harvest about 60 kilograms of cacay kernels this year, which can generate up to US$198, the equivalent of almost half the minimum monthly wage in the country. The boom is due in part to the work of Alberto Jaramillo. While scientists have been highlighting the virtues of the nut for more than a decade, it was Jaramillo, director of Kahai SAS, who found a market for the oil after attending trade shows and paying for a clinical trial of the oil’s use for dermatological purposes. Kahai, which buys seed from growers and collectors, expects to double sales this year. Jaramillo’s company sends workers on motorcycles and trucks to comb the countryside, sometimes driving more than 250 kilometers to ‘hunt’ trees and collect nuts. During the harvest season, from February to April, a mature tree can produce 400 kilos of nuts. Kahai pays 1,000 Colombian pesos per kilo, about 400,000 pesos per tree. He also encourages farmers like Ordonez to plant more. Native to parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, the cacay nut was formerly used by indigenous people to treat wounds and to light lamps. As these uses disappeared, trees reaching 40 meters in height became an attractive target for loggers. That is changing with the renewed interest in natural oils in beauty treatments. Sales of facial oils are rebounding, spawning new products from L’Oreal and Olay from a wide range of natural sources, from grapeseed to lavender and marjoram. Retailer Sephora’s sales of cosmetic oils tripled in three years. THE OIL BOOM In the United States, where sales of high-end facial treatments have remained stagnant over the past year, sales of cosmetic oils rose 24 percent to $42 million, reveal data from NPD Group. The small but growing appeal of cacay in the $465 billion personal care market has been boosted by the rising popularity of Moroccan argan oil, tapped by hair product manufacturers and now included in 14 percent of new treatments, according to market research from Mintel. Cocoa contains key ingredients in anti-aging products, such as antioxidants and retinoids, according to Kahai. “It’s going to be the new wave,” said Jamie Sherrill, who uses cacay in skin products she manufactures and sells at her Santa Monica spa. “I’ve always been a fan of retinol and argan oil, and we were looking for ways to improve on these two ingredients.” Sherrill, who has appeared with socialite Paris Hilton on the reality show “The Simple Life”, offers an ounce of “facial elixir” with cocoa for 198 dollars. A set of three anti-aging products with cacay sells for 1,555 dollars at Harrods in London. The venture is not without risk for Kahai and the small producers. Although vegetable oils are all the rage today, trends in cosmetics often change. “It’s more expensive than many of the regular oils,” notes Judi Beerling, research manager at London-based consultancy Organic Monitor. “As its availability increases obviously prices will come down.” Jaramillo said some companies are refraining from using cacay because there is not enough stable supply. It could take another three years, he estimated. “Our plan is to have sufficient volume for the coming boom in the cosmetics market,” he said. Kahai forecasts sales of 1.2 metric tons of oil from this year’s crop, double last year, and production will expand as the 100 hectares already planted with cacay trees begin to produce. Two kilos of grains are needed to make one liter of oil. The nut is 53 percent oil, and Jaramillo says his next plan is to use the remaining protein-rich meal left over after processing as a nutritional supplement. NEW HOPE The cacay revival has also brought hope to environmental groups seeking to curb deforestation. Luis Eugenio Cifuentes, a Colombia-based consultant for the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Team, has been promoting cacay as a profitable alternative to logging. He talks to farmers in remote areas and is organizing a plan to buy trees and reforest devastated patches of rainforest.

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