The little-known nut that may save at-risk rainforests

Food idiosyncratic Marcello Giannuzzi asks an intriguing question.

"What bash Italy and the Indonesian rainforests person successful common?" helium says. "Gelato," helium rapidly answers himself with a smile.

While fewer of america would marque a transportation betwixt Italian crystal cream, and Indonesia's tropical forests, Mr Giannuzzi is forging 1 acknowledgment to a seed that is little-known extracurricular of the Asian country, oregon adjacent within.

The seed successful question is called kenari, and it grows connected the histrion of the aforesaid name, which is autochthonal to bluish and eastbound islands and regions of Indonesia.

Harvested aft they person fallen from chaotic trees, that tin beryllium much than 40 metres tall, the mild-tasting nuts person a buttery rima feel, which Mr Giannuzzi says makes them an fantabulous dairy substitute.

With that successful caput helium launched a kenari-based vegan crystal pick marque earlier this year, called Nth Wonder.

Based successful the Indonesian superior of Jakarta arsenic good arsenic Bali, aft a palmy motorboat of the crystal pick successful its location market, the steadfast present plans to export to Singapore, and past Europe and the US.

And successful summation to the gelato, it is processing kenari-based cheese, yoghurt and beverage substitutes.

"I judge the kenari is simply a hidden gem," says Mr Giannuzzi, who points to its sustainability. He says that arsenic the seed grows connected chaotic trees, it incentivizes the extortion of rainforests alternatively than chopping them down to intensively workplace lipid palms.

Mr Giannuzzi's steadfast sources its kenari from Alor Island, which is located immoderate 1,600km (1,000 miles) owed eastbound of Bali, astatine the eastbound extremity of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Alor present produces astir 16,000 tonnes of kenari per year, with the trees producing the nuts each twelvemonth round. After being shelled, they are typically 1 inch oregon 2.5cm successful length.

Husband and woman concern owners Feliz Kusmanto and Debby Amalia King picture themselves arsenic "pioneers of kenari".

Their Jakarta-based concern Kawanasi has been selling the nuts successful dried signifier nether the marque sanction East Forest Nuts for the past six years successful Indonesia. It present besides exports to the US, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and volition soon besides vessel to the UK and EU.

Like Nth Wonder it besides sources its kenari from Alor Island.

"Before, locals saw kenari trees arsenic having nary economical value... different than chopping them down for timber," says Ms King. "We privation to physique a sustainable way for locals to locomotion into the rainforest to harvest kenari without ruining the jungle.

"We truly privation to amended the young radical that this is simply a precise bully accidental to spell backmost to your village, and we besides privation to enactment education. These are precise semipermanent goals for us."

However, she adds that she wants to spot the harvesting of the nuts stay based connected chaotic trees, and the planting of kenari farms, wherever caller trees would commencement producing nuts successful their seventh year.

"We don't privation a mono-culture workplace similar what happened successful Brazil with Brazil nuts," says Ms King.

Their institution is present producing 20 tonnes of dried kenari per month. The nuts are shelled connected Alor, with last processing done successful a mill adjacent Jakarta. It sells them some unsalted and salted, and with further flavours specified arsenic cocoa and cinnamon, and spicy salted caramel.

Kawanasi is besides continuing to enactment with the Indonesian authorities to beforehand the nuts some wrong the state and overseas, wherever it has participated successful a fig of planetary nutrient fairs.

Prof Helen Wallace is 1 of the world's starring authorities connected the kenari, and its sister trees and nuts, the pili and galip. These precise akin trees are autochthonal to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea respectively.

A prof of cultivation ecology astatine Griffin University successful Brisbane, she believes that the commercialized improvement of chaotic kenari could bring large payment not conscionable to the environment, but to the indigenous radical who telephone the Indonesian rainforest home.

"This seed has immense imaginable to payment smallholder farmers and springiness them income from their rainforest trees," she says. "If we could commercialise much chaotic nuts from the rainforest similar kenari it volition assistance to diversify our nutrient systems, forestall c nonaccomplishment and sphere our rainforests."

She adds she is hopeful that the instauration of man-made kenari farms won't happen.

"At the infinitesimal this manufacture is helping to sphere the rainforest," she says. "That could alteration successful the agelong term, truthful it's thing that would person to beryllium cautiously monitored."

Back astatine Nth Wonder, successful summation to its pre-packed crystal pick it sells a kenari paste that tin beryllium shipped globally without the request for costly refrigeration. This paste tin past beryllium turned into crystal pick by different firms, simply by adding water, sweetener and the required flavourings.

"As good arsenic america selling crystal pick nonstop to consumers, the exertion is cleanable for the concern to concern approach," says Mr Giannuzzi. "Its flexible capable to seizure each the marketplace opportunities."

He adds that helium predicts that kenari products volition beryllium to beryllium a deed with environmentally-minded young people. "The kenari is truly the cleanable fit," helium says.