Brazil

Centro de Estudos e Promoção da Agricultura de Grupo (CEPAGRO) will foster sustainable development and solidarity among rural producers and in low-income urban communities using the principles of agroecology. The project will directly benefit 150 farm families in 8-10 municipalities of Santa Catarina and 60 families from low-income communities in Florianópolis.

Ação Moradia (Ação Moradia) will work to advance the economic inclusion and socio-economic development of vulnerable families in eight communities on the periphery of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, by providing women heads-of household and young adults training, technical assistance and financial support, including loans.

Federação de Instituições Beneficentes (FIB) will conduct four workshops on its training for women, directed at representatives of civil society, government and businesses in the state of Rio de Janeiro; will develop an online database to improve its graduates’ employment rate with construction companies; and will produce a publication on its Projeto Mão na Massa.

Cooperativa das Trabalhadoras Autônomas da Pesca e Acessórios Artesanais (COPESCARTE) will convert a donated space into a tannery and office and will refine the skills of its member-craftswomen who use fish skin to make leather and leather articles. The improved plant and products should result in better sales, benefiting the 21 workers as well as their nearly 300 family members and, eventually, the 30 new members expected to join the cooperative.

Centro de Educação Popular e Formação Social (CEPFS) will offer farmers in eight municipalities of Paraíba technical assistance and training that improves agricultural production. A study of each community in which CEPFS works will facilitate the introduction of appropriate new technologies that address the challenges of living and farming in an area with very limited water resources. The project will directly benefit 200 producers and an estimated 800 family members.

Associação de Estudos, Orientação, e Assistência Rural (ASSESOAR) will work in eight municipalities in southeastern Paraná to train 2,000 farmers and public officials in the development and application of (1) “agricultural forests” (agroflorestais), which combine agricultural production and forest management for economic and environmental benefit; (2) low-cost, low-maintenance silos; and (3) cisterns that catch and store rainwater. Through workshops, exchanges and brochures, an additional 25,000 Brazilians will become familiar with the new techniques.

Fundação Margarida Maria Alves (FDDHMMA) will expand its course that trains for non-lawyers as legal specialists (juristas populares) to reach two classes of 30 students each in João Pessoa and develop a shortened course to meet the growing demands of rural communities in Paraíba. Students will learn about civic participation, how public policy is formulated, alternative dispute resolution and the law related to domestic violence law, and will visit relevant public offices.

Associação Vianei de Cooperação e Intercambio no Trabalho, Educação, Cultura e Saúde (AVICITECS) will work with 151 women and their families in 21 communities in Santa Catarina to diversify and expand production of organic crops as well as micro- and small businesses and to reforest the Mata Atlântica. Training will also focus on gender relationships and strengthening the organization of the women’s groups.

Bahia Street will offer 120 girls and young women between the ages of 6-17 classes that supplement their school curriculum, instruction in health and nutrition, career counseling and mentoring so they can make the transition to high school and the university. On a pilot basis, it will undertake new activities expected to reach an estimated 170 additional Brazilians who will include parents and caregivers of the students in the program, Bahia Street teachers and other students in public schools in Salvador da Bahia.

Grupo de Informática, Comunicação, e Ação Local (GIRAL) will train 120 young Brazilians from Pernambuco in the skills needed to work in the production of radio broadcasts, videos and print media. GIRAL members will have opportunities to participate in meetings of the Pernambuco Forum on Communication (FOPECOM), other fora, and local and regional networks of young leaders.

Associação dos Agricultores Agroflorestais de Barra do Turvo e Adrianópolis (COOPERAFLORESTA) will expand its agroforestry school to offer its member-farmers training and the opportunity to share experiences with technicians, researchers and other interested farmers. It will begin operating its new plant processing fruit pulp, ice cream and dried fruit. The project is expected to benefit at least 2,000 Brazilians directly and another 11,000 indirectly.

Instituto Comunitario Grande Florianopolis (ICom) will further develop its Centro de Apoio a Iniciativas Sociais (CAIS), a resource center for nongovernmental and grassroots groups in Greater Florianopolis, which should benefit 400 organizations and 1000 individuals.

Centro Ecologico (CE) will increase the incomes of 300 small-scale farmers while substantially improving the environmental sustainability of their plots with organic production and agro-ecological systems. CE will provide training and technical assistance to small-scale farmers’ cooperatives to diversify and expand organic agricultural production intercropped with native tree species, and to improve and scale-up the cooperatives’ small agro-processing facilities.

Center for Digital Inclusion Amâzonia (CDI) will offer hands-on training in refurbishing computers, build upon its campaign to promote awareness of e-waste, add more e-waste collection points and develop its enterprise that sells reconditioned computers. It will work with CDI Pará to introduce similar training, an awareness campaign and courses on recycling e-waste into handicrafts. Activities will benefit 480 people directly and 1,050 indirectly.

Instituto Fazer Acontecer (IFA) (the Make it Happen Institute), which uses sports to spur community development, will organize training for sports educators, educational sports activities for young Brazilians in rural Bahia and forums on sports in education and the social impact of the World Cup and Olympics. The activities will benefit 1,610 people from Bahia directly and approximately 10,000 indirectly.

Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas Populares (CETAP) will promote the expansion of agro-ecological farming systems with family farmers and improve the distribution and marketing of organic products in the northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul. CETAP will facilitate the connection between these family farmers and low-income urban groups interested in processing the organic produce into value-added products for local markets. These activities will generate employment and income for family farmers, and low-income urban groups.

Associação de Desenvolvimento Comunitário de Batayporã (ADEPORÃ) will work with farmers who were resettled as a result of Brazil’s program of land reform, to plant agro-ecological community gardens in idle or degraded areas and organize a cooperative, resulting in a more reliable food supply for approximately 500 rural families, for schools and for markets in the municipality of Batayporã, Mato Grosso do Sul. The grantee plans to connect the new cooperative to wholesalers in the region, school lunch programs and government agencies that distribute food to the poor.

Associação de Cooperação Técnica para o Desenvolvimento Humano – Outro Olhar (OUTRO OLHAR) will work with the Popyguá Solidarity Network, composed of representatives of indigenous Guarani communities in the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná, to develop microenterprises, improve infrastructure, record oral history, preserve the environment and reduce dependency on government assistance. Some 300 individuals will benefit directly.

Associação dos Remanescentes do Quilombo de Pombal (ARQP) will work with 160 Afro-Brazilian farmers resettled through Brazil’s program of land reform in São Tiago in the municipality of Santa Rita do Novo Destino, state of Goiás, to develop the association’s fund for equipment to improve production, and to launch a cooperative that buys the community’s produce to sell in volume.

A Casa Verde Cultura e Meio Ambiente (Casa Verde) will work with indigenous, quilombola communities, and small farmers resettled by Brazil’s program of land reform, to improve their productive capacities, reinforce their traditional practices, and conserve biodiversity in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul. This project will directly benefit 1,000 families and indirectly another 3,500 families.

Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra (Geledés) will train 120 Afro-Brazilian women from marginalized neighborhoods in eastern and southern Sao Paulo to provide residents information on domestic violence, health care, the judicial system and the availability of legal services to victims of discrimination based on gender or race or of violations of basic civil rights.

Cooperativa de Agricultores Ecológicos do Portal da Amazônia (Cooperagrepa) will develop a plan to organize farmers in municipalities in the north of Mato Grosso and offer them assistance with their production of native fruits and vegetables, organic certification processes and marketing. 

Instituto Arcor Brasil (IAB) will provide resources to grassroots groups for undertaking development projects. IAB will also work with Brazilian corporations and corporate foundations in RedEAmérica to improve the effectiveness of their social investment practices.