The life of a Brazil nut harvester in the Amazon
The life of a Brazil nut harvester in the Amazon

Assailed by mosquitoes and wary of snakes, Jorge Lengua walks watchfully through the Bolivian Amazon collecting Brazil nuts from the forest floor.

Brazil nuts are a rare non-timber Amazon forest product with a major export market, and in 2021, Bolivia was the world's top Brazil nut exporter, according to the World Bank.

Every year, between December and March, Lengua and others from the community enter the reserve to collect the fruit of the Bertholletia excelsa tree.