Drop by drop, he collects the milky white sap, known as latex, that sustains him.
The recent revival of the rubber tapper trade in this impoverished northern Brazilian region has created jobs for families who once thrived during the Amazonian rubber boom, which collapsed in the late 20th century.
A local company called Seringo has enabled Cordeiro and more than 1,500 other rubber tappers to resume their craft. The company produces goods such as footwear while also protecting the forest, increasingly threatened by deforestation.
For Cordeiro, a wiry 57-year-old, the Amazon is his backyard.
Behind his stilt house on the Anajas River, dozens of natural rubber trees blend with centuries-old trees and palms typical of this island, surrounded by rivers on one side and the sea on the other.
‘Family heritage’
“I started tapping trees at age seven with my mother, deep in the forest,” said Cordeiro, holding his knife, which has a protruding metal piece for making precise cuts in the bark.
