Copaiba Copaiba (Brazil)

Go Behind the Bottle

Have you ever wondered where your bottle of Copaiba essential oil comes from? Who it touches and impacts along the way? In this episode of Behind the Bottle, meet the families behind doTERRA Copaiba essential oil and glimpse the proud lives they lead. Discover their time-honored work harvesting copaiba oleoresin—and how Co-Impact Sourcing helped fund a much-needed dental clinic for their communities.

Meet the Community:

A doTERRA employee spent a full week with community associations in the Amazon who are strong advocates for their rights, their livelihoods, their families, and the future of their forest.

We’re honored to stand alongside them and work to ensure that prices reflect the true value of their labor and rainforest stewardship.

One harvester, Aldalblamo, shared during this trip, quote:

“[Our partnership] is very important to us… We really need the support as well. There are those who offer us really cheap prices for the Copaiba. The price was established before we left [for the harvest], when we got back from the harvest, they had already changed [or lowered] the price on us. That really hurt us. Today it is not that way. We settle on a price with [you all] which allows us to do our work really well.”

The Harvesting Process

We partner with local harvesting families that live along the Amazon River in Brazil. These families are accustomed to traveling by boat to reach neighbors and nearby towns. Each family takes care of several trees, a tradition that has been fostered for generations. For six months of the year, the copaiba trees along the Amazon are inaccessible because the river water level drops and the harvesters are unable to reach the trees by boat. But from January to June, the Amazon experiences its rainy system, and the river and its tributaries rise an average of 20 feet (6 m) or more, which makes boat travel much more accessible. This is the copaiba harvest season.

Copaiba harvesters trek through the forest, carefully assessing which trees are ready to be tapped. Copaiba oleoresin accumulates in the tree trunk, and after carefully tapping (or drilling) a hole into the trunk, the resin drips out, similar to the way maple syrup is harvested. The harvesters will store the oleoresin and carry it on their backs as they continue searching for more trees—sometimes even camping for days—until they return to their boats, satisfied with their harvest. A copaiba tree can live up to 400 years and grow more than 100 feet (30 m) tall. When a tree is first tapped, it gives an initial volume of oleoresin. The hole is then plugged, and the tree is re-visited once or twice per year. The amount of oleoresin that a copaiba tree produces is related to the diameter of the tree, the size of the tree canopy, and its location within the jungle canopy. Each tree can produce somewhere between 1 and 6 liters of oleoresin annually.

Local leaders of these harvesting groups will collect the harvested oleoresin and have it delivered to the distillation site where it undergoes a unique process.

Picture a large container where copaiba resin is turned into essential oil. First, the raw resin is placed in the container, which is designed to gently stir and heat it. Inside the container is a special pipe that carries hot fluid to heat the resin, and a vacuum to help the process along by lowering the air pressure inside the container. This not only speeds up the process but also helps preserve the delicate compounds in the copaiba oil, ensuring the final product is of high quality.

What sets this process apart from regular steam distillation is the way the resin is heated. instead of steam being injected directly into the resin, a serpentine pipe gently heats it from within. Plus, the resin is stirred to ensure the process happens evenly, allowing the distinct qualities of the Copaiba essential oil to shine through.

Impact Projects

• 2019 Dental Project
• 2020 Covid Relief –Food Parcels
• 2021 Covid Relief –Medical Equipment & Healthcare units
• 2024 School renovation at an indigenous tribe Sataré-Mawé
• 2024 Construction of a Computer Lab in Novo Airão
• 2024 Construction of a new school in Mirituba village, Apurinā tribe
• 2024 PPE distribution and training to harvesters in Apuí and Oriximiná

Generating Jobs

Communities in the rural Amazon are among the most poverty-stricken in Brazil. The state of Amazonas is Brazil’s fourth poorest state, with approximately 17% of the 3.6 million people living below the poverty line. Rural populations in Brazil tend to have the highest rates of poverty, due in part to lack of support for smallholder farmers.

Many families in this region generate income through collecting copaiba and other forest products, and sell their oleoresin to buyers passing through, or when going to town, but sales can be inconsistent and unreliable. Others leave their homes for periods of time to work in the nearest cities. d0TERRA seeks intentional partnerships that add value to copaiba resin trade for the harvesters involved and help sustain their way of life in their home villages.

Building Supplier Capacity & Fair Labor Conditions

Supported by the Co-Impact Sourcing® Challenge Fund, one of our sourcing partners worked with two Amazonian cooperatives in Apuí and Oriximiná to improve harvester safety and practices. Our partner provided tailored PPE like gloves, boots, and hats, along with training on safe, sustainable harvesting. The project concluded with a “Copaiba Good Collection Practices” manual, promoting responsible harvesting and reinforcing commitment to environmental stewardship and community well-being. This project not only meets immediate needs like health and safety, but also creates a lasting foundation for the future, promoting safe work practices for the long-term success of these harvesters.

Another sourcing partner seeks to build the capacity of local harvesters, not only to sell their own resin, but also to build a network of harvesters and organize their payments and raw material deliveries. Training in the necessary paperwork and business registration support—along with investment in a boat to transport the oleoresin—has empowered these harvesters to bring more income home.

Healthcare & Food Security

In 2019, the dōTERRA Healing Hands Foudation (dHHF) funded a dental clinic for 350 residents of seven remote Copaiba-harvesting communities to address urgent oral healthcare needs.

During the Covid-19 pandemic dHHF collaborated with our sourcing partner to provide critical resources, including equipment for two local hospitals and 24 healthcare units throughout the Oriximiná, Faro, and Terra Santa municipalities of Pará. The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation also collaborated on a food security initiative with our sourcing partner, providing basic food supplies, such as dried milk and beans, and hygienic supplies such as soap and detergent. These packages were delivered to 450 families, about 2,250 people total, in seven harvesting areas.

Education

In 2024, a primary school in the Sataré-Mawé tribal community, supporting 20–25 students, was renovated in part with funds from dHHF. Prior to the renovation, all grades from 1 to 5 gathered together in the same classroom at the same time in a tiny temporary school building, taught by only one teacher. Since this damaged school served the main Mawé Community in the region, the tribal leader Satarê said the renovation would be of great importance to them, enabling children from neighboring villages to return to school. The main project involved building a new roof, tiling, cleanup and painting of the original school, and the installation of desks, appliances, and other furniture. Our sourcing partner’s contribution allowed for the installation of fans, washrooms toilets/sinks, water filters and additional improvements. This renovation is not just about providing a better physical space—it is opening up opportunities for children from neighboring villages to receive a more focused and accessible education, as the renovated school serves not only our sourcing partner’s copaiba harvesting communities, but surrounding areas, as well. The improved school will help promote better attendance, improved academic outcomes, and a stronger sense of community pride.

Additionally, a new school is under construction for the Apurinã tribe in Mirituba village. The new school, when it is finished, will be more than double the size of the current school, serving more children and families of the tribe than before. doTERRA is also investing in community development by building a computer lab in Novo Airão, which was opened to the community in an inauguration ceremony March 2025.

Through these initiatives, families and communities are reclaiming their futures and gaining the tools, knowledge, and resources they need to thrive. dōTERRA is honored to walk alongside them as a committed partner. Together, we’re laying the groundwork for stronger, more resilient communities, from improved healthcare to better education facilities. A culture is being created where people can grow their businesses, protect their environment, and secure a better future for their children.