Licuri at the Terra Madre festival

Representatives of the Brazilian agricultural cooperative COOPES are in Turin, Italy, taking part in the Slow Food movement at the event Terra Madre 2010. Terra Madre unites people with a passion for food - cooks and teachers as well as eaters and students - as well as those that are promoting small scale, sustainable agriculture, as COOPES does.

Representatives from COOPES, from the semi-arid interior of the Brazilian state of Bahia, are among only eight groups from all of Brazil represented at Terra Madre, where they are participating in presentations about licuri and its benefits for small farmers and their families as well as the history of the food and the need for its preservation. Cultural practices from Bahia are part of the event, especially the traditional samba songs that historically accompany the preparation of licuri.

The Slow Food movement is a big help to the preservation of licuri. Beyond spreading awareness and adding credibility to licuri producers, it has supported licuri by testing its nutritional contents. With luck, the Terra Madre event (the fourth in which COOPES has participated) will be yet another step in developing a better market for licuri and the small farmers that depend on it.

The licuri nut

The licuri tree produzes fruits, the seeds of which are used for human consumption because they are rich in iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, zinc, manganese, miniral salts and betocarotene, turning this food into the most important source of income for various communities.



COOPES, in partnership with the State University of Southwest Bahia (Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia - UESB), carried out a laboratory study to identify the nutritional properties of the licuri nut. The importance of this fruit for human and animal consumption was confirmed.

The information below demonstrates the great nutritional composition of licuri:

Valor nutricional do licuri:
Water content - 28.6%
Ashes - 1.2%
Fats - 49.2%
Protein - 11.5%
Total carbohydrates - 9.7%

Minerals (per 100 grams)
Calcium - 35.6 mg
Iron - 2.77 mg
Copper - 0.88 mg
Magnesium - 115.6 mn
Zinc - 2.16 mg
Manganese - 1.23 mg

The licuri palm

The licuri tree is a palm about 12 meters tall with beautiful leaves similar to those of a coconut palm, measuring about two meters of length and 30 centimeters of diameter. It is among the most common native plants in the region. Clusters of licuri fruit carry more than 1,500 fruits, and a palm can potentially grow eight clusters. These trees have 10,853 licuri fruits, on average!



The licuri palm grows principally in the state of Bahia, in the caatinga biome, including the municipalities of Capim Grosso, Serrlândia, Quixabeira, São José do Jacuípe, Várzea da Roça, Jacobina, Várzea do Poço, Senhor do Bonfim, Campo Formoso and Caldeirão Grande.

An introduction to licuri!

The Piemonte da Diamantina region presents great potential for the production of licuri (Syagrus Coronata), a plant native to the region, that has long been used for human and animal consumption, as well as for raw material for handycrafts including hats, bags, mats and ornaments. The traditional activity of breaking licuri shells to produce the edible licuri nut is a source of income for agricultural families in the region.

With the Production Cooperative of the Piemonte da Diamantina Region (Cooperativa Produtiva da Região de Piemonte da Diamantina - COOPES) in the Brazilian city of Capim Grosso, communities and associations are trying to increasingly value products derived from licuri, especially for human consumption, developing more varied recipes and introducing licuri as an ingredient in many products.

COOPES sells cookies and snacks made from licuri, roasted licuri, carmalized licui, licuri oil and many others. These products are being presented in various markets and events at the national and even international level, attracting attention from the public, including major chefs. Events in 2008 and the first half of 2009 that COOPES attended include, among others, "Bahia Gourmet" (Salvador, Bahia, October 2018), "Terramadre" (Italy, October 2008), FENEARTE (Recife, Pernambuco, July 2009), ExpoSustent (São Paulo, October 2008), FENAFRA (Rio de Janeiro, January 2009, 1 Amostra Nacional de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (March 2009).

COOPES belongs to various networks that play an important role in the marketing of Coopes' products in markets and sales events, including Terra Madre Brasil, BUDEGA, Caatinga Cerrado, and ECOJUS.

The artisanal production of luciri takes advantage of every part of this plant: leaves, nuts, fruit and even the trunk. Every part can be transformed in viable products on the internal and external market. These products are options that generate income and dignified standards of living for rural workers.