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August 2007 e-Newsletter |
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A very warm thank you to everyone who attended,
donated to, and volunteered for our first annual event! It was a
fantastic success – we exceeded our goals by over 40% and had over 120 people
in attendance. We hope you enjoyed the music, food and festivities and
will take our message with you! Thank you! In this edition … The small rural communities in the Brazilian
Amazon with which we at CEN work face an uphill battle. They struggle
to end poverty, eradicate disease, and improve education all the while
preserving their culture, traditions and environment. CEN involves communities in projects that
empower them to meet these goals. Instead of encouraging reliance on
government and NGOs, we reinforce that sustainability comes from
within. The communities understand and desire sustainable, improved
living conditions. In first two editions of our e-Newsletter, we
informed you about our efforts with two of the communities with which we
work, Maguari and Suruacá. In this edition, you will read various ways in
which CEN works with the residents of another Amazon community with which we
work, Xixuau, to help them preserve their environment. While it is
merely a piece of CEN’s focus, it is essential to the local communities and
the health of our planet that the regions of the Amazon are protected and
preserved. These communities face constant threats from
government and private organizations looking to capitalize on the valuable
land. CEN aims to inform and encourage local communities to have a
voice in issues of environmental preservation – preservation of their lives
and livelihood. We have been active in helping expand protected areas
of the Amazon by supporting one of the communities with which we work,
Xixuau’s, efforts to join the Central Amazon
Ecological Corridor. Furthermore, as part of our broader mission, we work
to empower residents to become self-sufficient by developing the skills and
mindset they need to drive their own development. We also mentor groups
within the communities on a variety of income-generation and entrepreneurship
initiatives, as well as help them gain access to the markets and capital they
need to succeed. This provides alternatives to poaching, logging, or
otherwise damaging the forest to make a living. Our work is subtle but powerful. We
don’t build water systems, healthcare facilities or give out food. Many
of the communities we work with have their essential needs met, such as
shelter and food, but lack the know-how (but not the will!) to make a living
without migrating to the cities. Our work builds the confidence and
skills of individuals and promotes knowledge sharing to allow communities to
thrive and remain rich in culture and resources. As always, we thank you for your continued
support and encourage you to make a difference in fighting global poverty! Sincerely,
Robert Bortner Xixuau – Advancing the Community While Preserving the
Environment? Interview
with the community association’s president by Laura
Preftes
The people of Xixuau are the guardians, as
well as the inhabitants, of the ecological reserve. As they look toward
the future, they are creating a sustainable economy and improving their
standard of living through economic initiatives that respect their way of
life and their forest. Ecotourism and scientific research are two ways
they are generating income. The community is also developing plans for
a brazil nut drying and packaging plant, a camu-camu
pulp-making plant for the manufacture of a natural supplement; high in
Vitamin C and amino acids, an experimental fish farm and expanded craftwork
activities. Another exciting development in the Xixuau reserve
is the creation of an experimental ecological farm to grow meat (chickens and
pork), vegetables and fruit. The farm will broaden the local diet from
the traditional fish, rice and manioc flour and provide additional
nutrients. The farm uses a high-density farming approach which use
little land mass that has not been clear-cut, in order to protect the
rainforest. Read
more. Amazon Protection Begins With Its Own People: by
Andrew Austin
In February 1992 the inhabitants of
Xixuau, with the help of Scottish
environmentalist Christopher Clark, established the Xixuau Reserve, a
protected forest reserve that is recognized by the government and covers
450,000 acres. They also established the Associação
Amazônia, a community association charged with administering the new
reserve and the community of Xixuau. The association purchased rights
to the land and allows the local settlers to live, hunt, fish and conduct
small scale farming there, so long as they protect the environment. The people of Xixuau are now the guardians, as well
as the inhabitants, of the reserve. With the help of a number of
organizations and individuals from around the world - as well as their own
perseverance and ingenuity - they are learning methods and getting the
resources to create a sustainable economy and improve their standard of
living through economic initiatives that respect their way of life and their
forest. Read more. Health, Education and the Environment are Xixuau’s Top
Development Priorities: Interview
with the President of the community association’s by
Sunny Peter
Justino Filho da Souza (nicknamed Tobaco), 33,
is the President of Associação Amazônia,
an association formed by a group of settlers to the region who are actively
involved in bringing about community-centric social development among their
Amazon community of Xixuau, as well as their neighbors. CEN has been
facilitating exchanges of experiences between Xixuau and the other
communities among which it is working: Maguary and Suruacá. As
development catches up, socio-cultural paradigms too are changing, points out
Tobaco. Gone are days when art, culture and even the church was central
to the fabric of the community in these areas. Today the residents,
most of whom are coboclos - people with mixed indigenous, European,
and Afro-Brazilian ancestry - are more concerned about social
development: education, healthcare and infrastructure. Read More |
In
this issue
How
You Can Help Help us help Suruacá, one of the other communities
where we work, replace two defective batteries in their telecenter. The
telecenter is a key tool for our engagement with the community, however the
premature failure of two batteries is compromising their ability to
participate. Read More . Please make a financial
donation. Your contribution is invaluable and necessary for us to
continue our work. CEN is recognized as a charitable organization under
section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code. Donations
to CEN are tax deductible as allowed by law. CEN relies upon the energies and
expertise of volunteers from all over the world for the success of many of
our initiatives. Our team of nearly 45 volunteers is full of interested
and interesting people with diverse backgrounds and one common goal.
Please see our website for more details on how you can
exercise your existing skills or build new ones, while helping people living
in poverty improve their lives. Acknowledgements
Todd
Bynon Contributing
Writers Andrew
Austin Robert
Bortner Jetta
DeNend Sunny
Peter Laura
Preftes |
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