Introduction:
Meet Eunice Maria Alves, a farmer from Mato Grosso do Sul, in Brazil’s Central-West region, who now runs a business producing distilled and flavored beverages in Roraima, in the country’s north. Her fruit-based products have been drawing the attention of visitors to Campos Novos, a rural community in the state. The venture has been so successful that her bottles have already reached the United States and other parts of Brazil. Now, the owner of Biroska Bakana — where the beverages are crafted and sold — plans to expand production and even begin exporting.
Interviewees:
Eunice Maria Alves – Farmer
Lais Nascimento – Pastry Chef
Intern:
Fernanda Soares
Executive Producer:
Juliana Fontes
Editing and Post-Production:
Alexandre Almeida
Production:
AMAZON AGENCY
Duration: 05'25"
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**Script**
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– Opening Track
"I was born in Cassilândia, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but I came here directly from Aparecida do Taboado. I arrived in Campos Novos on January 20, 2002. At the time, I was still married, and we came to get a piece of land to work. That’s how it all began. In 2005, I started making liqueurs."
– Audio Track
– Eunice Maria Alves, Farmer
"I saw a great opportunity here when people brought in bananas. Back then, there were no proper roads — they would haul them on tractors to the village. When they transferred the bananas from the tractor to the truck heading to Boa Vista, a lot of them got spoiled. So I thought, I’m going to take those bananas and find a way to make use of them, right?"
– Audio Track
"It started working out, and that’s how I ended up with liqueurs. At that time, Campos Novos was the largest banana producer in the state of Roraima. So the city government and the state decided to organize the first festival and offered women a course on how to reuse all those wasted bananas. That’s when I started making banana liqueur."
– Audio Track
"Later, I decided to innovate — I started making jenipapo liqueur. I saw a lot of jenipapo fruit going bad, so I began making that. Then came jabuticaba, and I kept adding new flavors and started selling them. I used to have a grocery store next door, but my distillery really took off when I closed the store and focused solely on cachaça. And that’s where I am today. 2024 was a real breakthrough year."
– Audio Track
"We now produce 16 flavors of liqueurs and 16 flavors of flavored cachaças. For example, our best-seller among the liqueurs is ginger — number one. Then we have jabuticaba, pineapple, araçá-boi, coconut, cashew, cupuaçu, açaí, buriti, mango, acerola… All the fruits we use are fresh — never frozen."
– Audio Track
"Today, our liqueur is even in the United States. A customer who was here in Brazil bought some and took it to Boston. It’s still a bit challenging to reach other Brazilian states, but sometimes visitors come and take bottles with them. Many tourists visit here — it’s a tourist spot — and they buy them too. Now we’re trying to start shipping by mail to other states. The demand across Brazil is huge."
– Audio Track
"I don’t buy industrial bottles. What I do is ask local sanitation workers to collect bottles for me — I wash them, sterilize them, and reuse them. When someone buys my liqueur, I always ask them: bring the bottle back, don’t throw it away, because the Amazon doesn’t deserve that."
– Audio Track
"I’ve been able to meet my customers’ demand, but I’m feeling the need to expand production even further — not just to support local producers, but to help the entire Campos Novos community."
– Audio Track
– Lais Nascimento, Pastry Chef
"There’s no other place like this — no other biroska that works with this kind of demand for liqueurs. Tourists who come here always stop by as part of their visit — it’s become a tourist attraction. That’s great for her and for other local farmers, you know? Because since she makes these liqueurs using natural ingredients, if she doesn’t have certain fruits in her garden, she buys them from other farmers — and that helps everyone. That’s how the local market grows."
– Audio Track
"There’s no other place like this — no other biroska with this kind of liqueur production. The plain cachaça is already good, but the flavored ones are even better, right?"
– Audio Track
– Eunice Maria Alves, Farmer
"My life has improved a lot. Today, I’d say about 80% of my income comes from liqueurs and flavored cachaças. Things have changed so much. I practically live off this business now."
– Audio Track
"In 2025, I want to start shipping beyond the state — and who knows, maybe even abroad, right? It doesn’t hurt to dream, does it?"
– Final Audio Track