Today we would like to dedicate our mate to the ‘Brasileiros’ who lived and worked with Erva Mate in Palmeira das Missoes and reflect on the opression of the indigenous in these areas. Many lost their lands due to the corruption of the Republic Government in Southern Brasil.
221 years ago, in the night between the 8 & 9th of April 1894, 375 natives in the region of Boi Preto were murdered. This is the same region where the Family Tolloti (who makes one of Meta Mate’s artisanal erva mate) comes from.
Traditional mate producers take pride in their art of sapeco
Tolotti belongs to a legion of mate producers who are going extinct in the age of industrialization where generational traditions are not respected anymore. Although he is not officially allowed to produce mate for end consumption, due to modern government regulations, Tolatti continues to do what he learned from his father.
The Family Tolloti who has been producing mate since generations in Boi Preto
Tolloti’s production is energized by hydo-power.
Photo Credits: Victor Hugo Cecatto. http://vhd.com.br
This Meta Mate in resistance has been enjoyed by mate connoiseurs around the world and is praised for its complex smokey notes. Instead of selling his leaves or soul to the mate industry, Tolotti continues to harvest and produce his mate according to the demand and season, and receives a higher price for a higher valued product. Tolotti’s music praises the precious spirit of chimarrao and the gaucho culture. His music can be heard here.
Industrial standards dictate that mate should be pounded by metal machines and not traditional wooden ones
We invite you to join hands, drink a mate in silence and reflect on the aspect for which these people died. They vindicate the use of the forest to harvest Erva Mate. These rights were taken away from the commons through the government and privatized.
Very few of the original mate Ervals that Palmeira was renowned for remain in the region.
This resulted in the concentration of land in the hands of few, and the subsequent diminution of majority of the ‘native ervals’ of the greater Palmera das Missoes area. Up to today it results in the poverty of the so called ” bugres ” or brasileiros, descendents of indigenous mixed with Europeans, who since this time posess no rights to own land or cultivate from forest to harvest the mate.
