Developing Sustainable Communities

Our work in capacity raising involves us in participatory rural analysis, community mapping, and working with environmental managers to find creative solutions to conflicts between environment and development. Part of this involves us in policy work at community, county, regional and state level, where we tackle thorny issues such as assessing the impact of mining on certain ecosystems, or the granting of environmental licenses. We are also active on the boards of the State Forestry Institute, the Serra do Brigadeiro State Park and the Rural Development Territory, and we offer environmental education events for interested groups of children and adults to visit our forest trails.

We are also partnering with local communities in an exciting new community-based ecotourism project, which brings visitors to share in the rich culture of our rural lifestyles, value traditional knowledge and customs, and better understand the delicate balance between protecting natural resources and developing a vibrant local economy that can offer a better future for local families.