Understanding VivaTTerra begins with a pause; a moment to reflect on how our attention, choices, and the economic systems that shape our living world.
Land where trees, food, and local livelihoods are flourishing because the ecosystem and economy are working together.
The name is rooted in Latin; vivat, meaning “long live” or “may it live,” and terra, meaning “earth,” “land,” or “soil.” Jointly, it means let the land live.
The meaning holds deep significance for VivaTTerra, acting as the operating principle behind every sourcing decision, every supplier relationship, and every product we bring to market.
The double TT is symbolic of grafting, a horticultural technique in which two plant stems are joined so they grow as one. A symbol of mutual flourishing, it reflects the ethos of VivaTTerra. Natural land is both an ecosystem and an economy: producers sustain the land that makes these foods possible, while consumer choices help sustain the people and practices that keep it healthy.
As a small, operationally focused team, we are bootstrapping the work to build the trust, partnerships, and product integrity needed for an innovative marketplace where healthy ecosystems and prosperous rural livelihoods reinforce one another through transparency, traceability, strong producer relationships, and more informed consumer choices.
Co-Founder
B.Sc. Agricultural & Environmental Economics (McGill) · M.Sc. Energy & Climate Change Economics and Sustainable Finance (Barcelona School of Economics)
“Mindfulness shapes how I relate with the world; informing how I think, make decisions, and take action.”
Co-Founder
B.Eng. Electrical Engineering (Concordia) · Embedded Software Developer
When land is treated primarily as a resource for extraction, supply chains become organized around volume, price, and standardization, rewarding maximum output at minimum cost. The result: producers end up with no agency, and consumers are disconnected from the systems behind their purchase.
Agroforestry produces food (just like the açaí we offer) while revitalizing the natural systems of the land; building healthier soils, storing carbon, protecting water, supporting biodiversity, and making landscapes more resilient to drought, heat, and erosion.
My name is Fabrizio, and VivaTTerra grew from an interest in turning overlooked ecological and economic value into viable, resilient market opportunities.
The idea began in 2022 while I was conducting research in Madre de Dios, in the Peruvian Amazon. There, small-scale gold mining is an important source of income for many families, yet the use of mercury in extraction contaminates surrounding soils, waterways, and food systems. Research in the region has found elevated mercury exposure among communities living near mining areas.1 2 3
At the same time, I saw the extraordinary abundance of the forest: fruits, nuts, oils, medicinal plants, fibers, and other resources capable of supporting local livelihoods without requiring the land to be cleared.
That raised a simple question: if the land is so rich, why are the strongest economic incentives still tied to its extraction?
The problem is not a lack of resources or entrepreneurship. It is that markets for many forest products remain fragmented and too limited to compete with established extractive industries. VivaTTerra was created around the belief that markets can instead reward stewardship, making standing, productive ecosystems economically valuable to the people who depend on them.
In late 2025, I was introduced to Samay O2 – Amazon Recovery, a non-profit supporting the conservation of land through agroforestry systems and the processing infrastructure that supports them. Thanks to Samay O2, we are working toward offering açaí powder as our inaugural product. Looking ahead, Samay O2-linked systems may also involve restoration, agroforestry, and other productive land-use systems designed to rebuild ecological function.
Açaí is just the beginning. The broader vision is a marketplace for products from forest-based and agroforestry production systems that increase the economic value of living landscapes, creating a positive feedback loop between the wellbeing of local communities and the ecosystems they call home.
