There has been a tremendous amount of media attention in recent times, focused on the nutritional value and health benefits of the Acai berry - and any supplements which contain this ingredient. But instead of adding fuel to this already enraged inferno, we are going to take a different approach for just a moment. Indeed, whilst the human body can benefit from ingesting such a nutritional supplement, there are also a number of other uses for the berry - in areas where you may not have expected there to be.
Most of these are not actually as a result of the Acai berry - but instead from the Acai Palm, which is the tree which Acai berries grow on. Due to the undeveloped nature of the societies functioning in the Amazonian rain forest, and their seemingly disconnected state from the rest of the world - the people here have found interesting uses for the "expensive" and "exclusive" sources of the berries.
When you have no modern construction industry at the ready to ensure that your civilization proceeds and develops, you must resort to nature. This is what the people of the Amazonian rain forest have done. Because of the height of the Acai Palm, and because of the span of the leaves at the top, the tree itself provides an immense grade of protection from the elements. Therefore, by planting Acai Palms around a particular village, thunderstorms and tropical rain is less likely to be of concern.
This is a view shared by many of the tribes living in the heart of the rain forests. It is also a visible feature of villages and communities if you take a trip through the depths of this area.
Whilst Acai berries can indeed be eaten (and do provide a very nutritional aspect to the diet), the seeds of the Acai Palm can also be used to help a farmers animals, or a communities live stock flourish. Acai Palm seeds can be ground in to food for livestock, and as you would imagine - just as the berries are beneficial to humans - the seeds are also beneficial to animals.
By using the excess Acai Palm seeds in this way, there is the opportunity to harvest more each year from a particular flock of livestock, and hence advance a community or society further by creating a sustainable food source.