Guayusa

In the southern province of Zamora – Chinchipe in Ecuador, there is a canton named Chinchipe. Part of it is in the Amazon jungle and its climate turns to be more tropical and affected by the climate of the jungle making it more humid and greener. In this tropical area, there is a native plant called Guayusa being one of the few trees which contain caffein. It has been used since ancestral times for its health benefits such as addressing physical and mental fatigue and stress. The people of Chinchipe tend to use guayusa as an infusion to drink with their food. Some of the farmers in Zamora have guayusa and dry the leaves to sell to buyers. Other people in the province brew the infusion of guayusa and mix it with alcohol being a very common drink in the area. Even, this medicinal drink with guayusa has a song called “Agua de Guayusa” (Guayusa Water). Due to the importance of this leave in Chinchipe, the name of the mark.

Caravela has been working with producers from this area since 2016, guiding the produ- cers to always implement new practices in their farms to achieve better qualities and caring for the environment.