One of the issues many of us have with the term “sustainability” is that it sounds static. It runs smack into our beliefs in creativity, innovation and progress. What if you could develop a for-profit business model that actually improved the environment and the social and economic conditions of people in the supply chain? That’s what Alex Pryor and David Karr, the founders of Guayakí Maté, have done.
I interviewed Alex and David on my BlogTalkRadio show last week. Their story is one of honoring and benefiting the land, the people who live on it, and the consumer.
For those of you who haven’t tried it, yerba maté is a stimulating beverage favored by South Americans over coffee by a 7-1 margin. It is made from the leaves of a mid-canopy rain forest tree found in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. The thick, waxy, green leaves are harvested, dried and aged before being made into a tea.
Conventionally, maté is grown on big plantations. The natural rain forest is cut down, and a monoculture crop is planted in the sun, sprayed with pesticides and fertilized. Tribal people are displaced and turned into farm workers.
Alex and David met in college at Cal Poly State University in the mid 90’s, and shared the goal of creating a sustainable business. Alex, who is from Buenos Aires, invited David to come to South America, and together they developed what they have termed a “market driven restoration business model”. Instead of creating a large industrial process of clearcutting and replanting, Guayakí makes agreements with indigenous people to plant yerba maté under the canopy, preserving a diversity of forest life AND creating economic opportunities for the people to retain their lifestyle. In fact, the term Guayakí is derived from the name of one of these tribes, and literally means “wild people”.
All this gets even better when you think about what maté is and how it is consumed. Traditionally in South America, maté is a “slow food”, consumed in a gourd using a special straw called a “bomba”, passed around a gathering of people. Holding the gourd is like the North American native practice of holding a talking stick or stone – it empowers the holder to speak from her/his heart while the others listen and hear. Drinking maté symbolizes hospitality, and the act of taking a pause with friends. It’s a more grounded stimulant than coffee, with no acidity, creating a kinder, gentler buzz.
Just as interesting is the way the company is run. There are five partners, all good friends, located from British Columbia to Buenos Aires, with California in between, who make decisions by consensus. Each has taken a role based on his passion and expertise, and so far, after twelve years, it works really well. The company has been financed with a “patient capital” philosophy, attracting investment from several veterans of the natural foods industry.
For more, check out our interview.
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Sustainable Leadership 