Women-led Reforestation in Brazil

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Grow Ahead partnered with Central Cooperative of the Agrarian Reform Areas of Ceará (CCA) in Ceará, Brazil to plant trees in the Women-led Reforestation in Brazil project. The goal of CCA’s Peasant Women, Planting Trees Producing Healthy Foods initiative was to promote reforestation in agroecological production systems with native and fruit trees, which guarantee healthy food, recovery of native forests, care for natural resources (water, land, biodiversity) and build peasant and popular feminism and income generation for peasant families. 

The Women-led Reforestation in Brazil project planted 51,000 trees with a focus on growing healthy food by planting native fruit trees and vegetable crops in agroforestry systems. CCA mainly involved peasant women in the production of agroecological food and youth in the caring for the seedlings in the nursery. 

CCA and the Movement for Landless Workers in Brazil have a long history of Campesinas a Campesinas (Farmer to Farmer trainings) which has formed a network of peasant women who hold and share agro-ecological knowledge and practices in the region. In addition to the production and planting of seedlings, the project focused on production of knowledge around seedling production techniques, and planning and management of agroforestry systems with educational meetings and farmer-exchanges as well as technical improvement through workshops, exchanges, training, among others.