Babaçu Nut Harvesters Organize for Land and Livelihoods in Brazil
A Brazilian babaçu nut harvester and community leader told us about some of the accomplishments of her community and big challenges.
Association in the Settlement Areas of the State of Maranhão (ASSEMA)
-
-
Organizing Women-Headed Households in Brazil
Since 1989, our partner the Association in the Settlement Areas of the State of Maranhão (ASSEMA) has organized thousands of women-headed rural families in Northeast Brazil to expand access to rights and to improve their quality of life.
-
Celebrating International Day of the World’s Indigenous People: A Photo Blog
Since 1994, August 9 has been dedicated as the UN’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. The primary purpose of this commemorative day is to help promote and protect the rights of indigenous people around the world.
-
Nut Harvesters Are Changing the Local Economy
Maranhão is one of the poorest Brazilian states. Despite its wealth of natural resources, 62.3 percent of the population lives below the poverty index defined by the World Health Organization, with the poorest families living in rural areas. Landlessness is...
-
Six Organizing Principles for a Sustainable Future
Some of the most important lessons I know about grassroots organizing come from the poet Wendell Berry, who advises, “Invest in the millennium; plant Sequoias.”
-
[Cassava] Bread and Roses: Brazilian Farmers Seek a Dignified Life
During our visit to Brazil earlier this month, Saulo Araujo and I met with Grassroots International’s partners and the communities in which they work. I had prepared myself to talk about a range of issues, from Creole seeds to water scarcity to land occupation. I hadn’t expected to hear so much about the importance of a dignified life.
-
Rural Communities in Maranhão, Brazil Flooded; Please Help
Two weeks of steady rain have led to heavy flooding in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, the poorest state in Brazil. Officials estimate that over 30,000 people have been displaced and that at least 6,000 have had their homes destroyed by the flood. Assessment is still ongoing since many of the affected communities are very remote and roads are presently inaccessible. Grassroo
-
Social Change=Strong Women at the Forefront
Imagine that your family, descended from freed slaves, has been working the same plot of land where your ancestors once toiled in bondage for generations. Now imagine waking up one morning to find that your government has sold the land out from under you to foreign speculators. What would you do?
When it happened to Dona Maria de Jesus, or Dona DeJe as she is affectionately called, she knew she had only one choice: fight for her community and for her rights.
Brazilian Bishop on Hunger Strike In Defense of Sao Francisco River