Caatinga food forests: Indigenous farming in João Câmara

Our project aims to promote sustainability and strengthen family farming, as we live in a semi-arid region with little rainfall. Rainfall mainly occurs during the winter season. Because of this, our Indigenous community is working together with local farmers to strengthen income generation and improve livelihoods. Currently, we rely exclusively on the Bolsa Família social program in Brazil, as well as on the processing of cashew nuts, particularly the sale of cashew kernels. However, we work mainly through middlemen, which reduces our income. For this reason, we have sought to strengthen family farming. We are currently in a phase of empowering local Indigenous farmers and developing agroforestry systems that will provide future food production. The goal is to enable farmers to plant and harvest fruit trees and crops, ensuring healthy food production without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. We also aim to reduce dependence on cashew nut intermediaries and improve working conditions. It is very hard work, but it is currently the only livelihood available for many families in our community. Our main objective is to build a productive agroforestry system and strengthen sustainable family farming, so that we can live off healthy food while improving well-being in the community—in terms of health, nutrition, education, and the care of our Caatinga ecosystem. We are committed to preserving our native forest, medicinal plants, and trees. This is about protecting our territory, because land is life and territory is our body. It is our means of survival. That is why we are increasingly committed to strengthening the cultural, ancestral, and economic life of our Indigenous families.