Working with the planet and not against it.
Tapio wanted to make this planet a little bit better by bringing our delicious products to the American market. There is a gap in our society’s understanding of what cassava is and what we can do with it. When we realized that we could not find sustainably-sourced cassava products in the US, which are well-loved back home in Brazil, we decided to create them ourselves.
The indigenous people from the Amazon helped grow and expand the forests by planting cassava and acai along with other crops which nourished their peoples and replenished the lands in which they lived and thrived. At some point in time we reversed our thinking and humans began to destroy the forests by clearing the land to raise cattle and growing crops to feed the cattle. These practices have been devastating to our environment. Tapio believes that we need to return to the practices the indigenous people used and reverse course immediately so that our planet can heal.
When you consume sustainably-grown cassava you are helping heal the planet.
What is Cassava?
Also known a yuca, manioc, mandioca, macacheira, casabe…cassava is a tuberous food native to Brazil and the tropical areas of the Americas and Caribbean. Because cassava has long been a nutritional and essential root vegetable in the diets of these indigenous peoples, it is crucial to the culture and revered. Cassava is not a grain and has no gluten, it can be a great substitute to wheat flour.
Tapio is committed to focusing on ways to source cassava from groups of farmers who are growing syntropic cassava and actually regenerating the forests of Brazil.
WhyTapio?
Tapio
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Originally, we wanted to use the word Curupira for our brand since it is the name of the Brazilian indigenous mythical being that protects the forest. We ended up using the name Tapio instead because it is also a native word for the cassava starch tapioca. Coincidentally, after we chose the name, we found out that Tapio, in Finnish mythology, is the spirit god that protects the forest.
We named our brand Tapio because we believe that sustainable uses of the cassava plant can help restore the forests of Brazil and beyond....giving the hummingbird just what it needs to nurture our planet.