The Amazon region, being the natural home to the planet's greatest biodiversity, is increasingly drawing economic attention as a bioindustrial asset. Consequently, significant programs and projects have been developed in the Amazon, focusing on biodiversity knowledge, conservation, and biotechnology. Understanding the areas of operation of local communities and their entrepreneurial potential is essential for fostering regional development. It is in this Amazonian context that a nonprofit organization is changing the lives of various communities in the Barcarena region, a municipality located in the metropolitan region of Belém and an important industrial hub in the state.

Established in 2019 as a joint commitment by Hydro, Albras, and Alunorte companies for sustainable development in Brazilian regions, particularly in the state of Pará, the Hydro Sustainability Fund (FSH) has already invested approximately R$ 40 million over its four years of operation, out of the planned R$ 100 million for 10 years, impacting the lives of over 100,000 people, directly or indirectly, through partnerships with local institutions. There are seven major programs, each with distinct objectives and activities, financing various projects to promote community entrepreneurship in the region and female entrepreneurship. FSH investments are directed towards capacity building, hiring of local services, purchases from local communities, research, among others.

"Every time we select new projects, we are fostering connections between various sectors of society to execute concrete actions with a positive impact on the municipality. Through FSH, we also invest in innovation in the Amazon, connecting local initiatives that value standing forests and a low-carbon economy to global supply chains. Because, it is important to say, there is no shortage of people, ideas, or relevant studies in the region, but rather a lack of support for local entrepreneurship. In this context, we support the farmer across a complete chain – from forest to market – and thus contribute to attracting the necessary investments for the development of the bioeconomy," highlights Eduardo Figueiredo, Executive Director of the Hydro Sustainability Fund.

Development of Family Farming

Elias Bezerra, who is involved in two projects funded by FSH, Tipitix and Travessia Barcarena, owns a property in Barcarena that has been developing and generating income for him, his family, and other community members involved in the production of banana chips, açaí seeds, fertilizers, and the commercialization of various types of bananas, among other products. Through Tipitix, he already sells banana chips in the local and capital markets, being responsible for the entire process from planting bananas to selling to major supermarket chains. Through Travessia, he received a cultivator for clearing the plantation area. "With the equipment, I also transformed an idle area on my farm into a vegetable garden to diversify my production and increase my income," Elias explains.

Travessia Barcarena also benefited other family production units with various materials. In addition to brush cutters and cultivators, materials were provided for the construction or renovation of chicken coops and flour houses, tarpaulins, shade cloth, and wood for the installation or renovation of gardens and seedling nurseries, irrigation pipes for crop irrigation, baskets (baskets for carrying the production), and boxes for proper transportation of poultry, packaging for the commercialization of vegetables, and protection material against Covid-19 (170 thousand masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, caps, and aprons).

More than 100 seamstresses were trained, generating a total income of R$ 284 thousand; 90 productive units of farmers received improvements in infrastructure, and 50 tons of food were donated to families in situations of social vulnerability, benefiting 7 thousand people. In total, over 80 thousand people were positively impacted in the region through the project. "I always say we make dreams come true. Farmers who received brush cutters, for example, reduced costs with labor previously used in cleaning the açaí grove, which is not cheap, and today their cost is only with fuel for the equipment. For me, it has been a daily challenge and learning to work and live with these communities," says agronomist Rosemiro Rodrigues, field technician at Instituto Peabiru.

The Time for Women

According to Sebrae data from 2022, there are 720,542 female entrepreneurs in the North of Brazil, representing 8% of the total number of female entrepreneurs in the country. The highest concentration is in the state of Pará, with 376,366 female entrepreneurs, ranking eighth nationally and accounting for half of the total number of female entrepreneurs in the entire northern region.

FSH projects encourage various groups of these female entrepreneurs. One of them is the women from the Itupanema community in Barcarena, from the family of Mrs. Natalina Coutinho, who, with the production of fruit juice and Açucena jams made from fruits grown in the family's backyard, has expanded production and increased family income. Twelve people, including eight women and four men, also produce fertilizers, biofertilizers, sell backpacks by reusing uniforms donated by the army, and sell açaí. She participated in two cycles of the Tipitix project and Travessia Barcarena. "For me, it is rewarding to be able to return to living from family farming. I left the countryside to provide a better life for my children, and now that they are grown, I want to return to living from my production on the farm. I am managing to increase my income with the knowledge I have acquired in Hydro's projects," says Natalina.

Tipitix is not just a processing space but a business unit that aims to offer different entrepreneurs and social groups related to family farming access to new markets or the same markets under better conditions. The project received a voluntary and spontaneous investment of over R$ 4 million to carry out four business development cycles, creating 29 brands involving 43 farmers from 21 communities in Barcarena. At the end of the four cycles, the income generated from the sale of products already amounts to over R$ 100 thousand, with the products being marketed in 22 points in six states: Pará, Amazonas, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo.

Among the products already launched on the market are açaí and muruci jams, açaí ice cream topping, taperebá and cupuaçu, macaxeira cheese bread, seasoned manioc, tucupi pepper sauce, and many others. Empowering women through knowledge in computing, public speaking, entrepreneurship, and socio-emotional skills is part of the itinerant Women of Our Neighborhood project, from the Sustainable Connections platform, also supported by the Hydro Sustainability Fund.

Approximately 150 women have participated in the training sessions. In the shared testimonies, students recounted how they developed skills that helped them secure the coveted job in the job market. This was the case for Mayara Barbosa, who joined the Hydro Alunorte Young Talent program. "The course came as a gateway to a new world for us, women with different life stories, with a purpose of self-development. The skills I learned helped me secure a position as a young apprentice and dream of a future full of achievements," says the student.

The Sustainable Connections Platform seeks to finance socio-environmental projects to promote positive transformations for the development of Barcarena, benefiting primarily local community organizations, which have difficulties accessing credit. Since 2022, the Platform has launched 22 new projects, with an investment of over R$ 3.5 million, impacting 1,400 people. 

Another community of female entrepreneurs who have developed with FSH support is the Cupuaçu community, where farmer Rosa Queiroz learned from past generations how to produce cassava flour. This knowledge was refined with the support of the Tipitix project, which offered technical assistance for product development, infrastructure for processing production, as well as support in design, credit, and commercial advisory for product insertion in the market. The project also provided administrative and accounting support.

"With this support, we were able to improve the quality of our flour and expand the sale of our product, and today it can already be found in major supermarket chains in the capital and outside the state. Tipitix has changed our lives forever," evaluates Rosa Queiroz, who along with her family, mostly women, develops the Mandioqueiras brand.