What Happens When the Forest Thrives: sustainable forestry and the progress of Amazonian communities

When the forest strengthens, it gives back in abundance. And along with it, economies flourish, knowledge expands, and OMAMA’s purpose driven design takes root.

The Amazon is more than a forest. It is a living, breathing organism with its own intelligence. And like any living body, it responds. When we care for it, it returns the favor in the form of abundance. When the forest thrives, it is not only nature that blossoms. People thrive too. So do local knowledge systems and visions of a regenerative future.

Sustainable forestry is one of the turning points. Instead of extracting with no regard for consequence, it allows Amazonian wood to be harvested with respect for the forest’s natural rhythms, generating income for the communities that live with it and from it. In 2023, timber production in the Amazon generated over 4.27 billion reais. Yet nearly 35 percent of that came from illegal extraction (UN Habitat, BrazilReports). The challenge is not just economic growth, but how it is done. Studies show that reforestation and well managed forestry across Brazil have the potential to deliver even greater returns, more than 20.8 billion reais annually, while keeping the forest standing (Mongabay, 2015).

The Amazon has the potential to lead a new kind of economy — one rooted in its own natural resources and the knowledge held by local communities. The Amazonian bioeconomy, with products like açaí, native cacao, Brazil nuts, and essential oils, could generate up to 8 billion dollars a year if developed with proper structure and respect for its unique logic (Mongabay, 2023).

But not everyone benefits equally. While São Paulo has a per capita GDP of over 66 thousand reais, the Amazon region remains around 23 thousand (IBGE, World Bank). Access to education is also uneven. Only 54 percent of young people in the region finish high school, compared to the national average of 69 percent (IDB).

There are, however, concrete signs of change. Projects like Amazon Sustainable Landscapes, with 80 million dollars in funding, are working to promote balanced land use across nine states in the region (World Bank, 2024). Initiatives like Mombak, backed by national and international investment, are restoring forests and creating new income streams. Their goal is to plant eight million trees by 2025 (Reuters, 2024).

At OMAMA, each creation carries these values. The wood we select is legal and responsibly sourced. The knowledge behind OMAMA’s designs is built in partnership with local communities. And what we deliver is not just a beautiful object. It is a bridge between what the forest can offer and what the world still needs to learn how to value.

When the forest thrives, what grows is not just an economy. It is autonomy. It is memory. It is proof that another path is possible. And that path runs deep.