Mariri and Chacrona

The Mariri vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the Chacrona tree (Psychotria viridis) are plants that are native to the Amazon rainforest and are utilized by the Beneficent Spiritist Center União do Vegetal in the preparation of Hoasca Tea, which its members drink for the purposes of mental concentration. For a long time, these two plants have been used by people of the Amazon region in religious rituals and for purposes of healing, as a part of their cultural traditions. Chacrona was scientifically identified at the end of the 18th century; Mariri in the mid-19th century.

PRESERVATION OF MARIRI AND CHACRONA

The preservation of these plants and the sustainability of  their cultivation is an essential objective of the União do Vegetal. They are cultivated in plantations of the União do Vegetal in diverse regions of Brazil. This work is done with management and cultivation techniques that respect and preserve the environment, utilizing agro-ecological principles.

The União do Vegetal has a department that cares of the environment and cultivates Mariri and Chacrona. The center also has a training center for people who work with the plantations, in São João da Baliza, in the state of Roraima, that provides courses for training volunteers. Additionally, there is a bank of cultivars that aims at preserving the genetic integrity of the different species and varieties of the two plants.

Novo Encanto Association

For the preservation and plantation of the two plants utilized in the preparation of Hoasca Tea, the União do Vegetal has a partnership with the Novo Encanto (New Enchantment) Association of Ecological Development. Novo Encanto is a Brazilian non-profit organization, which received the OSCIP qualification in 2010 (Civil Society Organization in the Public Interest). The association was created by members of the UDV and originated from the acquisition of the rubber-tapping region named Novo Encanto, on the border of Amazonas and Acre.