ACRAA Brazil

ACRAA Updates

thor — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 16:33:21 +0000

ACRAA Overview and Operational Plan (2024)

The attached document presents and overview of ACRAA along with our operational plan (latest edits August 2024).

ACRAA-Overview-and-Operational-Plan-2024 Download

INTERNAL: Backup listing

Sat, 13 May 2023 18:04:10 +0000

https://instance-0-40003.edit.ahost.win/wp-admin/admin.php?page=ai1wm_backups

Comments about backups – important ones get reasons

20230513 – prior tor duplicate pages with forms and prepare for lipstick on rapid publishing
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Munduruku Indigenous Schools – Planalto Santareno

diego — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:05:29 +0000

ACRAA PROJECT IN SCHOOLS

MUNDURUKU INDIGENOUS SCHOOLS - PLANOALTO SANTERENO

In 2023, we were able to start expanding the “ACRAA at School” project, taking environmental education activities to four Munduruku indigenous communities, these located on the Planalto Santareno (Santarém Plateau), in the Baixo Tapajós region.

The first activities were carried out in the indigenous community of Açaizal, in partnership with FUNAI. Here we gave lectures to students and teachers at the Wapurum-Tip Indigenous School, where we addressed issues related to environmental conservation, and solutions to minimize problems associated with of garbage and water quality.

We also started the planting of an agroforestry system within the school limits, where what is sought is the production of food and products derived from the forest to complement school lunches – and also generate income so that the school can offer better quality education to its students.

In 2023 we intend to carry out more environmental education activities, construct a plant nursery , and continue with the planting of a small agroforestry system.

The other three indigenous schools at which carried out environmental education activities were: the Santa Helena School (Amparador community); the Jose Arlindo Betcel School (Ipaupixuna community); and the São Francisco School (Palhão community).

We need your help to continue carrying out these and other activities!

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

Santarém Plateau

thor — Fri, 05 May 2023 16:08:00 +0000

Planalto Santareno Sustainability Project

In February of 2023 we commenced what we intend will be our first integrated Sustainability project, this in an area called Planalto Santareno located about 70 km to the east of Alter do Chão. Here, working closely with FUNAI [1], we have formed a partnership with a group of four indigenous communities [2] of the ethnic Munduruku people, each with it’s own small school .

It was in the Planalto Santareno community of Açaizal that we met with members of the various communities for the first time in early February 2023, and then returned later that month to stay two nights to learn and plan. Based these discussions, we all decided a small agroforestry orchard next to the school in Açaizal would be a good place to start, with the school children involved in the planting. This is important as the community identified environmental education as one of their priotities.

And we have started on this already – group of ACRAA volunteers returned to Planalto Santareno at the end of March (2023), to talk about the environment with children at several of these schools, and help coordinate small tree planting ceremonies (see Enviromental Education).

The planning for the orchard at Açaizal is also underway, with the area mapped and soil analysis done. What we do here will later be replicated at the other schools in the area – including the establishment of a small nursery at each school.

Further in the future we want to work with these communities to develop larger agroforestry systems and to restore the local igarapé (creek) and surrounding deforested lands, leading to a significant increase in forest and agroforestry cover in this area over time.

But there are complex problems to be solved in the Planalto Santareno for this vision to be realized. This area was heavily forested not long ago, however, in some areas now industrial soya farms have pushed up to the edge of homes and communities. This can be detrimental to air quality for these people, when pesticide aerosols drift over during spraying of fields. Where soya fields have pushed too close to streams and rivers water quality may also be negatively impacted, due to runoff of sediment and pesticide laiden water.

At ACRAA we want to help find solutions. We believe an important element is full acknowledgement that the indigenous population here has unrecognised ancestral territorial rights, and then finding a way to see that these rights are honoured and respected. We also believe that with growing global concern about the Amazon forest, coupled with the ever-closer scrutiny of the Brazilian soya industry and the impact this has had on deforestation in the Amazon – ultimately it is in the interest of this industry to honour and respect these rights as well. So there are solutions based on consensus to be found – with the right approach and support.

It will also be noted here also that another priority of the community identified at our meetings is improvement of the roads into these communities, which during the rainy season can be almost impassable. If improved road systems can make forest and agroforestry related economic activity more viable – by reducing transport costs and improving access to markets – then this should be part of the discussion.

Remember, to carry out this sustainable development project we need help from people like you. Please see how you can at our Donate page.

[1] FUNAI: National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples. Santarém office, R. Vinte e Quatro de Outubro, 1915-1711 – Aldeia, Santarém – PA, 68040-010, Brasil.

[2] One of these commuities is Açaizal – the coordinates of the school here are: -2.638594, -54.511559.

GO TO OUR DONATE PAGE TO SEE HOW TO COLLABORATE

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

Ilha do Amor

thor — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 23:58:54 +0000

The Ilha do Amor

Our Ecological Restoration work on the Ilha do Amor – the Island of love – is into it’s second year now. Throughout this period we have been working very closely with Neca Borari, chief of the indigenous Borari comminity in Alter do Chão – she has been an incredible help and is passionate about this project. [1]

Our intent is continue with this work for years to come, planting trees on an annual basis during the period November to January – this when the river level is low. Until now we have planted only one species, this a tree comonly known as Cumandá. All the seedlings we have planted were very large, some 3 meters in height or more. Planting very large stock is seen as important here, due to heavy tourist traffic in this area. We have also successfully propagated the seeds of more than ten other native tree species from this beach, these now growing in our nursery for planting starting in November of 2023.

Our most recent planting work consisted of a series of six planting events, the first on November 19/22 (as part of the annual film festival in Alter do Chão), and led by Neca. Numerous members of the Boarai community also participated. At this event the media was present filming and conducting interviews and there was music and dance throughout.

Notable in this series was our third event, that on Dec.2/22 – here the 5th grade class from the Borari middle school in Alter do Chão came to work with us.

The final event in this series was held on January 14, 2023, bringing the total trees planted over this period to 100.

To read about our very first planting event on the Ilha do Amor (Feb.2022) – click here.

If you are interested to learn more about the Ilha do Amor and the ecological problems this place is facing – click here.

Remember, to carry out these and other restoration processes we need help from people like you that care. Please see how you can at our Donate page.

[1] ACRAA recognises the Ilha do Amor as part of the traditional territory of the indigenous Borari people of Alter do Chão.

GO TO OUR DONATE PAGE TO SEE HOW TO COLLABORATE

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

Biographies

thor — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 17:27:06 +0000

Professional Biographies ACRAA Management Team

Katiane Araújo Lourido. Natural de Santarém – Pará.

Degree in Full Licentiate in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Western Pará/UFOPA (2016). Master’s in Environmental Sciences, in the area of concentration of bioprospecting of natural products – UFOPA. Experience in extraction and bioactivity of essential oils. Teaching Science and Biology and environmental education.

Katiane is also the lead instructor and manager of ACRAA’s “ACRAA in the Schools” environmental education program. She is also a founding member and the current President.

Diêgo Figueiredo de Siqueira Simplício (Brazilian)

Email: diego@acraabrazil.org

Diêgo Figueiredo is Brazilian, graduated in Law from the University of Triângulo Mineiro (UNITRI, 2012), and registered with the Brazilian Lawyers Order under number 148.062 MG (2013). Diêgo trained for four years at three different institutions: at the Public Ministry of Claudio-MG (where he worked in the civil area); at the UNIFENAS Legal Assistance Center, in the city of Poços de Caldas-MG (also working in the civil area); and at the Public Defender of the State of Minas Gerais, in the city of Uberlândia-MG (where he worked in the area of criminal executions). During this same period he participated in a complementary course on Introduction to Business Management.

As a lawyer, he has been working for nine years emphasizing further studies in the field of Environmental Law. Diego is also a founding member of ACRAA.

B. Thor Smestad (Canadian) B.S.F.[1], M.Sc.[2], P. Ag.[3]

Email: thor@acraabrazil.org

Thor Smestad is a Canadian reforestation and ecosystem-restoration specialist. He began this career in 1981 as a tree planter in the mountains of British Columbia (BC), Canada, and then later, after completing a degree in forest resources management (1994), continued to work in BC as a silvicultural forester. This work involved managing projects related to all aspects of reforestation and forest management on the vast expanses of public lands in British Columbia.

In 1997 he returned to university to complete a Master of Science degree, specializing in soils. His master’s study was located in western Kenya, where he examined the soil fertility changes associated with short-duration agroforestry fallows (Smestad et al., 2002).[4]

Since completing his masters in 2002, Thor has worked throughout western Canada in the field of ecosystem restoration and soil erosion control. For a short period (2012 to 2016) he also operated his own native plant nursery and ecosystem restoration company.[5] Many of the projects completed during this period were in shoreline and riverbank restoration, and he is now known as a specialist in this area in BC. One of the most exciting projects during this period was the ecological restoration of a small peninsula near Nelson, BC. Here, for a three-day period in each of five consecutive years (2011 to 2015), Thor co-led an annual ecological restoration field-school for the local College’s Integrated Environmental Planning Program.[6]

At present he works seasonally (April-Nov.) as a senior ecosystem restoration specialist for an environmental consulting company in western Canada.[7] He spends his winters in the Amazon region of Brazil where he is a founding member of ACRAA.

[1] Bachelor of Science in Forestry. University of British Columbia (Canada). 1994
[2] Master of Science. University of Saskatchewan (Canada), 2002.
[3] Professional Agrologist. BC Institute of Agrologists (British Columbia, Canada).
[4] For published study results see: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1020501627174
[5] Treebear Native Plants. See https://Treebearplants.ca
[6] Selkirk College, Castlegar, BC. https://selkirk.ca/program/iep
[7] Lotic Environmental Services, Cranbrook, BC, Canada. See https://lotic.co/

Katherin Daniela León Pinto

My name is Katherin Daniela León Pinto. I was born in Lara-Barquisimeto, Venezuela. I am 27 years old.

From a very young age I have felt a strong connection with plants. When I was 5 years old my family traveled to Valencia-Carabobo where my grandparents lived, they work mono-cultivation with citrus, milky and bananas. One day I asked my grandfather to teach me to work the land; that was my first contact, which led me to discover that this is my passion. Since then, a large part of my life has been dedicated to plants.

My family was a bit nomadic so we traveled a lot. We were in various states of Venezuela; we lived in cities, neighborhoods and towns. In each place I met people who shared their knowledge of plants with me, and this is something that I really liked. Every time I had the opportunity I read books about plants, and learned a little about natural medicine among other things.

Like the plants, I felt a great connection with the animals in each place where we arrived, and I rescued the animals that I found on the street and cured them. Most of them were cured with plants, so I practiced my home remedies. Those are my passions, plants and animals.

Of course life goes by and the world goes around and in those turns I lived and learned many things, and I am still living and learning. Now I live in Alter do Chão. Since I arrived here my work with plants has deepened, living two years in Caminho das Pedras, a small community near Alter do Chão that works with agroforestry. There I learned to work with multi-cultivation, agroforestry, and the biodiversity in the humid tropical zone; and with the soil here, which is sandy. This has been a great challenge with great learning.

I have been part of ACRRA for three years now; that is where I work, practicing and sharing everything I have learned. I am still seeking knowledge about plants, including at times taking courses on the internet about agroforestry. Daki is a founding member of ACRAA.

Sula Gabrieli

Sula (Gaby) is a skilled nursery worker and medicinal plant specialist and is a member of the indigenous Maytapu people. Her ancestral community is the village of Pinhel that lies about 50 km to the south-west of Alter do Chão further up the Tapajós River. She assists Daki with the management of ACRAA’s nursery and works with her own knowledge of plants to add to what ACRAA can offer. Gaby is a founding member of ACRAA.

Thais Thayane da Silva Beltrão de Farias

Brazilian, born in Recife-PE, on 29.09.1993.

Thais is a technician in Business Administration, graduated from the Special Professional Center (2011). Also a makeup Artist – Embeleze Institute (2014), and eyebrow Designer – Center Take Free courses (2018).

Worked as an administrative and commercial assistant at the Objective Engenharia de Eventos in 2012. Commercial Consultant at the Academia Hi from 2013 to 2014. Receptionist and salesperson at the Academia Santé Club (2014 to 2015).

From 2015 to 2017, she worked in the Amazon region as a cook on tourist boats, leading the fusion of regional food with northeastern food.

Also in 2015, she worked as a bartender and cook at the Mãe Natureza Bar and Restaurant (Alter do Chão) and from 2016 to 2017 at the Alter do Chão Gastronomic Space Restaurant.

In 2019, she returned to work in the Administrative and Product Shipping sector at Ekilibre Amazônia.

Thais currently works as an artisan, cook, and secretary and project coordinator for ACRAA. She is also a founding member of ACRAA.

GO TO OUR DONATE PAGE TO SEE HOW TO COLLABORATE

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

CEMEI Borari School

diego — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:42:46 +0000

ACRAA AT SCHOOL PROJECT

CEMEI Borari

The ACRAA at School project commenced at the CEMEI Borari School [1] in Alter do Chão at the beginning of the 2022 school year.

Here we planted trees inside and outside the educational center to ease the heat, which will transform the school space into a more wooded and cooler environment. The pre-school children participated in the activities, helping with the planting of trees.

[1] Municipal Center for Indigenous Early Childhood Education – Professor Marilda Vasconcelos Soares Borari.

We also held lectures with the CEMEI students and teachers, with the theme of environmental awareness and the importance of children in the process of environmental education of thier parents.

In March 2023 we started building a raised bed for growing vegetables for the student’s lunches, and for medicinal plants. Lectures and monthly activities will soon be held here with children from the educational center and their teachers.

In April of 2023 an initial activity was carried out with the preschool children in the form of a practical class on seed germination. Here they planted vegetable seeds in tubes, these will be used in the school lunches in the future.

We need your help to continue carrying out these and other activities!

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

Borari Indigenous School

diego — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:30:49 +0000

ACRAA AT SCHOOL PROJECT

BORARI INDIGENOUS SCHOOL

The “ACRAA at School” project began at the Borari Indigenous Elementary School [1] in Alter do Chão in April of 2022 with revitalization of the school nursery. This nursery was sitting unused at this time and in a bad state of repair.

[1] Professor Antônio de Sousa Pedroso Municipal Elementary School.

In August 2022 the project began with lectures and practical classes, working on issues related to environmental education through the school garden theme. Several topics were covered in the form of workshops with three 5th grade classes, each class with an average of 16 students.

At the Borari Indigenous School, the “ACRAA at School” project takes place in partnership with the Notório Saber Project, which sets up schedules for workshops and practical activities that take place throughout the semester. A teacher at the school monitors the project activities, with the aim to involve the school community more in actions promoted by ACRAA.

During 2022 the workshops were carried out on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, according to the availability of classes in relation to the available times. We started with topics related to the cultivation of vegetables, and medicinal and ornamental plants. Also covered were site selection, soil preparation, seed germination, types of plants and fertilizers, transplanting and pruning of seedlings, and choice of medicinal plants. The year ended with a planting practice for reforestation.

In February of 2023 we completed an expansion of the school nursery. We also enclosed the area with a fence and gate, this to protect the cultivated plants from curious fingers when lessons were not occuring there.

ACRAA, under Katiane’s leadership, began delivering workshops at the school again in April of 2023.

Among other actions planned for the year 2023, in addition to the activities carried out last year, seedlings will be cultivated and donated to students, teachers and guardians – integrating the community into the process. In addition, vegetables produced by the children will be used in the school lunch program. In the future informative booklets on medicinal plants will be developed, combining traditional and scientific knowledge, to be distributed to teachers and students.

In April of 2023 seeds of a local native tree were also germinated, these the students are now growing into seedlings for ACRAA’s reforestation actions in the riparian forests of the Ilha do Amor.

We need your help to continue carrying out these and other activities!

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

Ecological Restoration

diego — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:57:23 +0000

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

Ecological Restoration includes reforestation and other types of work to restore native ecosystems, such as our beach restoration work and the restoration of riparian vegetation along creeks and around wetlands. In ecological restoration only native plants ecologically suited to the site are used, with the seed sourced from the site itself or nearby similar sites if possible.

Most of our active ecological restoration work is at present concentrated around Alter do Chão (Pará, Brazil). This work started in February of 2020 with the collection of native seeds from trees and shrubs suitable for planting in high value but degraded ecosystems of the area, this being the beaches surrounding this village.

And since then we have continued the work of collecting native seeds from these beaches and growing these into seedlings in our nursery.

Throughout 2022 and now into 2023, and using the plants produced from these seeds, we have implemented a number of planting projects where we have planted hundreds of native trees in this area.

We started this restoration work on the region’s postcard, The Ilha do Amor, a world famous beach that is threatened by soil (sand) erosion and loss of tree cover.

And we have already extended our ecological restoration to other locations in the lower Tapajós region and intend to plant thousands more trees in the coming years.

Learn more about this work on our Project pages – click here.

GO TO OUR DONATE PAGE TO SEE HOW TO COLLABORATE

MORE GREEN, MORE LIFE!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org

Environmental Education

diego — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:57:04 +0000

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

We see environmental education as one of the fundamental pillars for building a social and economic system that is sustainable and in harmony with the environment.

Studying the environment we live in is not an isolated factor, environmental education also reaches socioeconomic, political, cultural and historical problems through the direct or indirect interaction of these fields with the environment. The planning of an environmentally conscious education is focused on the environmental responsibility of each person, being able to achieve behavioral changes in students making them influential and active in the defense of the environment.

In this context, ACRAA created the “ACRAA at School” program, with the aim of promoting and stimulating environmental awareness among students in kindergarten and basic education, with priority given to indigenous schools in the Baixo Tapajós region.

We already have projects under development in two indigenous schools of the Borari ethnic group (in Alter do Chão) and we are carrying our first actions together with another four indigenous schools of the Mundukuru ethnic group (in Planoalto Santareno), all within the lower Tapajos region. The schools that we have been developing projects with for the longest time are both in Alter do Chão, these are:

The Borari Indigenous School Professor Antônio de Sousa Pedroso (Municipal Elementary School) which serves students from 1st to 9th grade and the Youth and Adult Education modality, and the …

CEMEI Borari Municipal Center for Indigenous Child Education – Professor Marilda Vasconcelos Soares Borari, which is an indigenous educational center that serves children in early childhood education (Preschool).

The activities carried out in schools are developed in order to reconcile theory and practice regarding environmental issues, whether these are local or global. Theory allied to contact with natural resources are of great importance in the teaching-learning process with regards to environmental awareness.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROJECTS

MORE GREEN, LESS HOT!

Rua Everaldo Martins, s/n., Bairro Carauari, Alter do Chão, Santarém-PA, CEP 68109-000.

contact@acraabrazil.org