In Brazil’s semi-arid Sertão do São Francisco, rural women are using simple logbooks to document the economic value of their agricultural production and the work that sustains their households and communities. The Agroecological Logbooks (ALs), originally developed in Minas Gerais around 2011, enable women to record the products they consume, donate, exchange and sell, assigning local market values to goods they produce themselves. Complemented by participatory mapping and collective discussion, this approach makes visible contributions that conventional economic assessments often overlook, including food production, seed conservation, care work and the management of agrobiodiversity.

The article examines how the methodology expanded in Bahia through feminist and agroecological movements and the Pró-Semiárido rural development project, implemented by the state’s Regional Development and Action Company (CAR) with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Drawing on feminist participatory action research and ethnographic work conducted in 2022–2023, the authors explore how rural women, community organizations, local NGOs and movement activists collectively generate and interpret knowledge. Conversation circles, storytelling and participatory exercises help women recognize the value of their work, exchange experiences and connect everyday challenges with broader patterns of gender inequality and exclusion.

The findings highlight the potential of the logbooks to strengthen women’s self-confidence, economic agency and participation in community decision-making. The data have also supported demands for recognition as farmers, access to social protection and greater representation in cooperatives and public policy processes. Beyond documenting production, the initiative illustrates how community-led research can connect local knowledge with collective action, while challenging conventional research practices that marginalize rural women’s expertise.