Imagine that if you could buy just one fish, you could save a tree, a way of life, a whole community and contribute to the preservation of nearly one fifth of the world’s fresh water reserves. Would you buy it? Would you spend the $3.79 it will cost you? There’s just one catch and it is actually a very small one; the fish needs to be one of the wild caught ones from the Amazon Rain Forest. Sidestep the cloudy controversy around farm raised vs. wild caught. These fish, if they aren’t harvested, will die off in huge numbers, so you are doing them a favor when you add them to your home or office aquarium where they can live as long as ten years.
The Amazon Rain Forest
In 2015, I journeyed to THE Amazon, the real and original one, not Jeff Bezo’s online emporium. In the Amazon rain forest in Brazil I discovered the close connection between Boston and Maine and yes, the Amazon Rain Forest. Most folks don’t know this yet, but there are more similarities than you might think swimming just below the surface. Two examples of ways to innovate are a manufacturing plant for air/water and a fish focused annual festival. Entrepreneurship is alive and well in the Amazon region of Brazil. 
I met the founders of the first air water manufacturing plant in the world. Bottled in the heart of the forest from condensing high humidity air, Amazon Air Water will enter the premium water market while returning 25% of the profits back to the community to fund school supplies, computers, tools and the protection of local culture.
Piaba Festival
Amazon Air water was one of the important sponsors of the Piaba Festival and I met others during my travels. Project Piaba itself is the 25 year collaboration between the fishing families of Amazonas, Brazil and a non-profit organization headquartered in Boston. Led by co-founder and New England Aquarium biologist, Scott Dowd,
their focus is the ornamental fish trade in the Rio Negro basin of the Amazon. These connections have created some incredible friendships and good business.
This region in Brazil once supplied a large percentage of the cardinal tetras and other beautiful fresh water fish for home aquariums, public aquariums and zoos worldwide. Project Piaba has quietly helped build structure and support for the entrepreneurial community of over 20,000 people in a sustainable lifestyle model.
With nearly one fifth of the entire fresh water of the planet earth residing within the boundaries of the Amazon, we all have a large stake in protecting this ecosystem which does not rely on harvesting the forest or polluting the water in the pursuit of mineral extraction. These wild caught ornamental fish have a high birth rate and a major die-off in low water season. Therefore, there should be minimal environmental concerns over the capture and export of these live fish. And the worldwide aquarium industry gains beautiful benefits.
Midcoast Maine – Midcoast Brazil
I found amazing similarities between Mid Coast Maine fishing communities and those in Mid Coast Brazil. First is seeing vastness of freshwater in the Amazon for as far as you can see. So similar to the vastness of the salt water ocean of Maine. 
The annual Piaba festival was inspired by Scott Dowd’s project and celebrates the fishermen and women of Barcelos and the Rio Negro region of Brazil.
For one long twenty four hour period the population doubles and friendly competitions between cardinal tetra and discus fish groups take place in a performance space built especially for it; the Piabadome. How are teams determined? Well, you don’t get to choose the group you represent. You are born into one or the other and you gain or lose points based on how respectful you are of the other group’s performance. Cheer them on and gain points, be passive or leave early and your team loses points! How’s that for collaboration? In August, Brazil honored the Piaberas & Piaberos. Officially for the first time, Brazil will also host a celebration the night before the start of their next fishing season.
Amazon Rain Forest
The Amazon is everything you might imagine and nothing like you think it is. Sadly, it is at risk of being destroyed by the scarcity of traditional work, over regulation, misunderstanding, and controversy. Few outside of Amazonas and Barcelos know myth vs. reality. Sound like Maine’s fishing communities? It sure does. Want more information? Want to apply entrepreneurship principles to your community?
Drop me a line! I can put you in touch with like-minded world citizens to help preserve your unique part of the world. Or click here for more information on Project Piaba. This article originally appeared in THE CRYER of Mid Coast Maine in Keith Spiro’s Column, The Boston and Maine Connection. March 2015. You can see the original article here:B&M Connection March 2015 Project Piaba
2017 footnote update – Sy Montgomery’s Amazon story.
Even though we experienced many exotic and exciting discoveries, the real takeaway from the trip was the people we met and the friendships we created. There were 3 “Keith’s” aboard our small adventure. Two of us as photographers. One of whom was on assignment to support Sy Montgomery in her plan for an upcoming book.
Sy Montgomery is an award winning author, a universally loved children’s book author, an adventurer, and a very kind human. “A good human,” as she would say. In the beginning, I described her as a real life Dr. Doolittle, but she is so much more. She can talk to the animals. She can talk & swim with the animals while simultaneously engaging other humans to take up the cause of understanding and protecting them.
For all these reasons and more, I count Sy among my kindest of friends. I have since traveled to the New England Aquarium for one of her famous visits with the octopi.
In addition to visiting the aquarium with her in Boston, we attended her New Hampshire book signing at Gibson’s Book store, when The Soul of an Octopus came out. Indeed, I was also at Gibson’s at a book signing event where one guest brought along a special guest. A pot belly pig. The subject of one of her earlier books.
The most lasting gift however was to find myself in print, by name, in her children’s book that came out telling the story of our shared Amazon Adventure: How Tiny Fish are saving the world’s largest rainforest.
Another good human helping to make a better world within nature.