“Golden grass changed our lives. It is the golden grass that puts bread on the table, which generates income to buy food, clothes, shoes. Even today, it is the community’s main source of income and changes the lives of artisans by providing a better quality of life,” says Railane de Brito da Silva, 27, president of the Mumbuca Quilombola Community Association, in the Mateiros region, in Jalapão (region east of the state of Tocantins). Golden grass (Syngonanthus nitens) is not actually a grass, as it does not belong to the grass family. It is the stem of a small white flower of the evergreen family (Eriocaulaceae family). Golden grass is the raw material for making bags, jewelry and decorative objects that generate income for hundreds of artisans. Railane Ribeiro displays a mandala made with golden grass – Publicity “He was born here in the community of Mumbuca. 180 years ago Dona Laurinda, better known as Dona Miúda, discovered golden grass. She was the pioneer of golden grass in the world”, proudly says Railane, who continues to lead the association, overcoming daily challenges so that artisans in the region have visibility. “I’m proud of my work, which is not easy, but I have strength because I was born empowered.” In the association, she does everything: she is involved in social, financial, sales and projects that help promote local crafts, in addition to teaching at a state school, including quilombola culture. “The association is the heart of the Mumbuca community”, says Railane proudly. “The association develops golden grass handicrafts. We have the Capim Dourado store, where there are 200 artisans and associates who sew every day and sell there. The store organizes the sale of the pieces and 90% goes to the craftsman, 5% goes to the seller and 5% goes to the association’s cash”. “In the Mumbuca community, everything revolves around the association, it’s like the community’s city hall. We still have the office, the Casa da Cultura, the Barracão de Eventos. The association is a social work, because everything that comes from basic basket and donation goes through the association that distributes to the community”. Daughter of farming parents, Railane is very proud of her origins. “We quilombolas are the communities that keep more than anything else. So, from the past, we know how to conserve nature the way it was. Our community is well preserved. We teach people not to throw garbage in streams and on the banks of rivers, because in addition to the golden grass, there are many attractions here, there are streams, waterfalls, rivers, beaches, so it is very interesting”. She tells how the community preserves the cerrado’s biodiversity. “Our way of conserving the cerrado is to leave the head of the golden grass there [no campo], to grow new grasses, in addition to using the Cerrado with quality – which is setting fires at the right time, not deforesting, not silting up and deforesting around rivers. The Cerrado offers us the best when we work in this land with respect”. Biome The Cerrado is one of the five major biomes in Brazil and occupies about 25% of the national territory, with an approximate area of 1.9 million square kilometers (km²). It is the second largest national biome, behind only the Amazon. According to the Ministry of the Environment, it is one of the regions with the greatest biodiversity in the world. It is estimated that it has more than 6 thousand species of trees and 800 species of birds. Despite its importance, data show that the Cerrado has been devastated. According to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), from January to April 2023, deforestation increased in the Cerrado and fell in the Legal Amazon, compared to the same period last year. Data are collected from the Deforestation Detection System in Real Time (Deter), available on the TerraBrasilis platform. Family farming In addition to family farming, Maria de Lurdes coordinates the Cerrado Network – Lillian Bento/Disclosure At 5 am, Maria de Lourdes de Souza Nascimento, 59, is already up and about taking care of the plantation and small-scale raising of chickens, pigs and cattle. Daily chores, however, are not limited to working with the land and animals. She is also the coordinator of Rede Cerrado and is currently at the Secretariat of Agriculture and Cooperativism of the Rural Workers Union of Porteirinha, in Minas Gerais. At the union secretariat, Maria helps coordinate actions in more than 30 municipalities. Among the activities are: training, income generation and organization of marches to denounce and demand better conditions for the community. “The work we do in the Cerrado Network is aimed at protecting biomes, fauna and flora and traditional peoples and populations”, says Maria de Lourdes. “Our work is focused on agroecology, ensuring the well-being of rural women and men”. Even with a focus on sustainable agriculture, she takes every opportunity to make the women in the community aware of not accepting any type of violence. “The challenges are enormous, but we cannot give up. Women need to love themselves more and flee from violent environments. And stop dying in the name of love”. She says that in her work, she faces patriarchal machismo. “I don’t let myself down. I defend women, family farming and the environment. I have no doubt that without these three elements there would be no life on the planet”, she completes. That is why she understands that helping to conserve the Cerrado is so important. “The Cerrado is our water tank and it is no wonder that it is so coveted by mining companies. But the planet’s catastrophes show us that we are on the right path, which is to preserve in order to continue living”. For Maria de Lourdes, actions come to change environmental adversities. “We are few and few in this fight, but we are making a difference on the planet, on climate change. We are like the hummingbird in the fire: we are doing our part!”, he said referring to the fable of the hummingbird that, faced with a huge fire in the forest, collaborates by taking drops of water in its small beak in an attempt to fight the flames. Cerrado Resiliente These examples are just two of several movements that involve hundreds of women in the rescue of their traditions and their ancestors and carry out the work of conserving biodiversity, in initiatives promoted by the Ceres Project – Cerrado Resiliente. “The Ceres project started in July 2020, to promote the sustainability of resilient landscapes in the Cerrado, aiming at socioeconomic inclusion, the protection of sociobiodiversity and the mitigation and adaptation of climate change”, explains Isabel Figueiredo, coordinator of the Cerrado and Caatinga Program of the Society, Population and Nature Institute (ISPN), one of the organizations that is part of the Ceres Project. According to her, one of Ceres’ components is support for socio-environmental projects through the Eco-Social Productive Landscapes program (PPP-ECOS). “In this context, we launched two public notices and supported 31 projects by community-based organizations throughout the Cerrado that contribute to the achievement of the Ceres Project’s objectives”, adds Isabel. The projects are focused on territorial management, conservation and production of socio-biodiversity products, sustainable production by family farmers. Ceres is carried out by WWF-Brazil, WWF-Paraguay and ISPN, coordinated by WWF-Holland and financially supported by the European Union. The project lasts for four years.
Agência Brasil
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