The delegation from the German bank KfW, a state-owned banking institution in Germany and one of the largest supporters of the Amazon Fund, was able to learn about initiatives such as the Bolsa Floresta Program and community-based tourism ventures, which benefit from resources from the fund.
The commission, made up of Germans and Brazilians, visited the Tumbira and Santa Helena do Inglês indigenous communities, which are located within the Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS). The FAS general superintendent, Virgílio Viana, highlighted the importance of the German bank KfW’s support for sustainable actions in the Amazon. “FAS has supported tourism since the beginning. When we started community-based tourism, there was only Garrido’s house (inn) here. Today it has grown to three families, with three inns. We want to make tourism an important activity for the future of the region and I hope that our visitors, the Germans, can take home the message that this is a special place.”
