Help is at hand for the Amazon rainforest and Brazil's poverty-stricken rural people - courtesy of the country's famous native nut.

Brazil nuts are a valuable food source with a huge market in Europe and North America: up to 7,000 tonnes of unshelled nuts and 20,000 tonnes of shelled nuts are shipped every year.

And because the trees that supply the nuts grow wild, they offer a way for communities to make a living from the forest without destroying it - something that is now being put to use in the country.

"This is a real financial resource for communities," Dr Rafael Salomao, who works at the Museu Goeldi, one of the most important centres for the study of the Amazon, told BBC World Service's One Planet programme.

"A tree which is over 400 years old can provide for generations and generations."

Tree cemeteries

Brazil nuts are considered to be one of the most valuable products that can be harvested from undisturbed rainforest.

Carnival in Brazil's African capital a growing attraction for ...

People dance to the beat of carnival group Olodum in Salvador, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007. This city that was Brazil's first capital and major stop for slave ships coming from Africa, is preparing for its famous carnival that officially begins on Feb. 15. (AP) .

Brazil's Carnival a growing attaction for foreign tourists

People dance to the beat of carnival group Olodum in Salvador, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007. This city that was Brazil's first capital and major stop for slave ships coming from Africa, is preparing for its famous carnival that officially begins on Feb. 15. .