Sustainable Cotton Project includes families in Cerrado Mineiro

The Sustainable Cotton Project generated social welfare for 46 families in the northwest of Cerrado Mineiro. Previously, they were threatened by food insecurity, which got worse due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The initiative of the Society, Population and Nature Institute (ISPN) supported 18 communities at Arinos region in partnership with Copabase, Central Veredas and funding from Laudes Foundation.

With financial resources and technical support of ISPN, these communities harvested 5 tons of sustainable cotton in 2021 harvest, and celebrated large amount of food produced with Agroecological techniques.

The farmer Andreia Frota, one of the beneficiaries of the project, showed how happiness it is to have a good cotton harvest and further products, with plenty and diversity in her backyard.

“In family farming, with assistance, we can produce. Our land is our company,” she shares.

Born on the farm and contemplated with agrarian reform policies, farmer Gaspar Gonçalves also celebrates the success of the project, envisioning a better future for the rural population.

“I remember when I first entered my land. It was September 22, 2001, the first night I slept in my land, where I live to this day and I don’t intend to leave,” he says. Communities report that, in the market, they only buy rice and sugar. The diversity of food comes mostly from their own backyards.

Sustainable cotton

Haroldo Mendes, farmer on the project, celebrates this rescue. “40 years ago, my mother had a spinning wheel, but there was a time when we didn’t have that anymore. Now, with sustainable cotton, it can show up again,” he comments hopefully.

“The experience of the Sustainable Cotton project is a successful example of agroecological production, food security, cultural recovery and a reminder of the importance of agrarian reform policies. We are talking about strengthening communities, so that they can dialogue with the government”, concludes Jessica Pedreira, forestry engineer, technical advisor at ISPN.