Borborema in Brazil
This initiative is taking place in the Agreste da Borborema region and is led by the Oziel Pereira community. Their aim is to use the role of collective action mechanisms in the agroecological transition at the community level.
The Agreste da Borborema is a region marked by high levels of rural poverty. It is located in the Brazilian semi-arid region, in an environmental transition between the humid coastline and the dry backcountry.
The community of Oziel Pereira is organized by Collective Action Arrangements, CAAs, that are selfmanaged socio-organizational arrangements aimed at regulating cooperative participatory work processes for the construction and socialization of knowledge linked to territorial networks of production, processing and food distribution. It is a locally established mechanisms aimed at mediating economic transactions in territorial base agri-food systems. For example, the following CAAs were established in the trajectory of agroecological innovation : Collective work task force, local cooperative, community seed banks, Rotating solidarity funds, collective kitchen, construction of agroecological knowledge and political training and access to markets.
The agrosystems developed in the settlement were strongly influenced by the CAAs present in the community. Biodiversified systems, with well-structured house surroundings, polyculture mowing, animalplant integration practices, use of Creole seeds and infrastructure for capturing and storing rainwater allow the reproduction of autonomous economies.
This fact sheet is produced as part of the Avaclim project, which aims to create the necessary conditions for the deployment of agroecology in dryland areas. The international solidarity association CARI coordinates the Avaclim project while the Caatinga is in charge of its implementation in Brazil.