Talison Benites

When he was a young xondaro, a warrior of the Guarani people, Libório would venture onto farms and confront landowners in search of the Jateí bee. Now an elder, he teaches his grandchildren to raise the bees within their own village: “Back then, the forest was free. If you wanted, you could go in and bring back Jateí, hunt and bring back animals. Not anymore—today we only have this small patch of forest where the Ava Guarani are allowed to enter.”