Borari Territory: a victim of its own success?
In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, in the state of Pará, about 36 kilometers from Santarém, lies Alter do Chão, on the banks of the Tapajós River.
The Amazon rainforest, Lago Verde, the warm, fresh waters of the Tapajós, and the white sand beaches that appear when the water levels drop: this landscape now attracts visitors from Brazil and around the world.
And its fame extends well beyond the borders of Pará.
In 2009, the British newspaper The Guardian placed Alter do Chão at the top of its list of ten remarkable beaches in Brazil, ahead of destinations already internationally famous like Fernando de Noronha¹.
That same year, Prince Charles—now King Charles III—visited Alter do Chão during a trip to the Amazon².
International cruise ships also dock in the region. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of foreign visitors can discover Alter do Chão during a single stopover³.
The small Amazonian village of my childhood is today known far beyond Brazil.
But behind this destination that has become famous, a people were there long before: the Borari.
This story is also the story of my roots.
The Borari were already there
The Borari are an Indigenous people of Pará whose history is deeply linked to the territory where Alter do Chão is located today.
Before receiving its current Portuguese name, the locality was an aldeia Borari, a Borari village. During colonization, the region saw the presence of religious missions and, in 1758, received the name Alter do Chão, borrowed from a town in Portugal.
The name changed. The people remained.
For generations, families lived on this territory without needing to trace its boundaries on an official map.
They knew the paths, the forest, the igarapés—those small streams characteristic of the Amazon—the fishing spots, the families, and their histories.
This knowledge of the territory was passed down through daily life, memory, and word of mouth.
Belonging to this place was not just a document. It was lived.
I was born in Pará, and my roots are deeply tied to Alter do Chão. In my childhood memories, no one felt the need to prove their belonging to this territory on a daily basis.
It was simply our village.
When the land becomes coveted
With the development of tourism and the arrival of vacation homes, Alter do Chão has gradually transformed.
The land has increased in value, and with this appreciation, pressure has intensified: real estate speculation.
Spaces long used by the residents began to attract interest from individuals and investors outside the community.
One question then became essential:
How can we protect a territory lived in and passed down for generations against much more powerful economic interests?
Saying "we are from here" was no longer enough.
Maps, studies, documents, and administrative procedures were now required.
Why a demarcation today?
This is an essential point to understand the current history of the Borari.
The territorial claim does not mean that the Borari recently discovered their Indigenous identity. It reflects the need to have a relationship with the territory—which existed long before current administrative processes—legally recognized.
The Borari were already there.
Faced with land pressures and real estate speculation, it became necessary to put on paper what the community had known and passed down for generations.
In 2025, the Borari people and the Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA) presented a Relatório de Autodemarcação da Terra Indígena Borari de Alter do Chão (Self-Demarcation Report for the Borari Indigenous Land of Alter do Chão), in order to document the territory and its traditionally recognized boundaries⁴.
The process of demarcating the Borari Indigenous Land of Alter do Chão is ongoing.
A document does not create a territory. But it can become a tool to defend it.
Women, from one generation to the next
When I think of the Alter do Chão of my childhood, I particularly remember the role of women in village life.
I think in particular of Dona Luzia Lobato and Dona Terezinha Lobato, our Tetê, who have now passed away.
At the time, I probably wouldn't have called it "female leadership." I simply saw women who participated in collective life, organized, brought people together, and made things happen.
Today, other women are continuing this history.
Neca Borari, cacique (chief) of Alter do Chão, participates in mobilizations related to the defense of the territory.
Lays Uchoa, my sister, works in turismo de base comunitária (community-based tourism) in Brazil, an approach where residents participate directly in how their territory, culture, and history are presented to visitors.
The goal is also for tourism to benefit those who live in the territory more directly.
In a place facing both tourism development and land pressures, this way of welcoming visitors and sharing Alter do Chão takes on its full meaning.
Traveling can then become something other than just looking at a landscape: it becomes listening to those who inhabit it.
Craftsmanship, another form of transmission
Women are also very present in Borari craftsmanship.
Artisans like Cléa Borari, Damiles, and Marise Branco continue to create and pass on their skills today.
Craftsmanship represents much more than just a beautiful object.
It can generate income and contribute to the autonomy of families, but it also allows for the transmission of techniques, knowledge, and cultural references.
Behind a creation, there are hands, a person, know-how, and a story.
This is where this story naturally joins that of Amazonikaa.
Amazonikaa does not manufacture these creations. Our role is to select the work of artisan partners in Brazil and create a bridge between their skills and the European public.
When we present a Borari creation, we want to go beyond the jewelry: to tell, when we have the information, about the person who created it, the materials that compose it, the techniques that shaped it, and the territory to which its story is linked.
The world knows Alter do Chão. But does it know the Borari territory?
Today, the challenges are no longer the same as when I was a child.
We must engage with institutions, defend the territory, follow recognition procedures, imagine more respectful tourism, and continue to transmit knowledge and skills.
The entire Borari population is participating in this continuity: women, men, families, and multiple generations, each in their own way.
Some people now belong to the memory of the village. Others are continuing this story in the present, through the defense of the territory, community-based tourism, craftsmanship, culture, or simply through daily transmission within families.
And ultimately, the story I wish to convey is quite simple:
The world knows Alter do Chão. But does it know the Borari territory?
People sometimes come from very far away for its fine sand beaches, its warm, fresh waters, the Tapajós, the Lago Verde, and the Amazon rainforest.
But behind this landscape, there is a territory.
And behind this territory, there is a people.
Coming to Alter do Chão also means entering the territory of the Borari people.
This beach that is photographed, this forest that is admired, these waters in which one swims are not just a tourist destination.
They are part of a territory that has been inhabited, known, and passed down for generations.
Before being a destination, a territory is a place to live.
In Alter do Chão, this territory bears a history and a name: Borari.
This is also what Amazonikaa wishes to convey through "Living Heritage": looking beyond the landscape, meeting the humans behind the craftsmanship, and understanding the story behind each creation.
Sources
1. Alter do Chão and its international recognition
The Guardian, "Brazil’s top 10 beaches", 2009.
2. Prince Charles' visit to Alter do Chão
Folha de S.Paulo, archives dedicated to Prince Charles' visit to the Amazon and his stay in Alter do Chão, March 2009.
3. International tourism and cruise ships
Secretaria Municipal de Turismo de Santarém. Data and news regarding international stops in Alter do Chão and Santarém.
4. Borari territory and self-demarcation
Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará (UFOPA), Relatório de Autodemarcação da Terra Indígena Borari de Alter do Chão, 2025.
For further reading
Suzanny Cunha da Mota, A Associação Indígena Borari de Alter do Chão: os ganhos de autonomia e a resistência no território Borari.
Território ancestral e a resistência feminina do povo Borari de Alter do Chão – Amazônia Paraense.
The passages dedicated to Dona Luzia Lobato, Dona Terezinha Lobato (Tetê), Lays Uchoa, Cléa Borari, Damiles, and Marise Branco are also based on my family memory and my personal knowledge of the community.