Açaí palm

The açaí palm (Portuguese: [aˌsaˈi], from Tupi-Guarani asaí;Euterpe oleracea) is a species of palm tree in the genus Euterpe cultivated for its fruit and hearts of palm. Its name comes from the Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of the Tupian word ïwaca'i, '[fruit that] cries or expels water'. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in recent years, and açaí is now cultivated for that purpose primarily. Euterpe edulis (juçara) is a closely related species which is now the primary source of hearts of palm.

Euterpe oleracea is mostly native to Brazil and Trinidad and northern South America, mainly in swamps and floodplains. Açaí palms are tall, slender palms growing to more than 25 m (82 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long.

Harvesting and uses

Fruit

The fruit, commonly known as açaí berry, is a small, round, black-purple drupe about 25 mm (1 in) in circumference, similar in appearance to a grape, but smaller and with less pulp and produced in branched panicles of 500 to 900 fruits. The exocarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of 1 mm (0.04 in) or less. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp, which contains a single large seed about 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) in diameter. The seed makes up about 80% of the fruit. Two crops of fruit are produced each year and is harvested during the dry season between July and December.

Alliance for Affordable Internet

The Alliance for Affordable Internet (abbreviated A4AI) is an initiative to make the Internet more affordable to people around the world. The World Wide Web Foundation serves as the Secretariat, and major members of coalition include Google, the Omidyar Network, the Department for International Development, United States Agency for International Development, Facebook, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, UN Women and many others from the public, private and civil society sectors.

History

Purpose

A4AI was created with the goal getting global broadband internet access priced at less than 5% of average per capita income globally; the target of the UN Broadband Commission. It cites the lack of investment in infrastructure, competition in the market, and inefficient taxation, amongst other policy and regulatory obstacles, as being major constraints to reducing prices.

It claims the internet as being an essential source of information and services for all and advocates an open, competitive broadband and telecommunications market, regulated by an independent agency. Particular attention is paid to internet freedom and the rights of online expression.