Health, Education and the Environment are Xixuau's Top Development Priorities: Interview with the community association's president

by Sunny Peter

Justino da Souza (aka Tobaco),
President of Associação Amazônia

Located about 500 km (310 miles) from the city of Manaus, is a place called Xixuau - a naturalist delight: 182,000 hectares (450,000 acres) of virgin forest. It is a favorite jaunt for researchers, film- makers and eco-tourists that come from all over the world because of the area's abundance and visibility of fauna that is unique to the Amazon. Situated almost exactly on the equator, the seasons in the region are defined by high water during the months of March to September and low water from October to February. During the high water season, the area is characterized by vast tracts of igapo (flooded forest), and the low water season presents immense sandy beaches and extreme concentrations of aquatic life. Travel to this reserve site is done by regional boat, in which outboards are used along the main river and at the entrance to the reserve. All movements inside the reserve are by paddle canoe and on foot through the forest.

Development perspectives in these thick interiors of the Amazon are changing fast. Modern-day fads are quickly catching on, says Justino Filho da Souza (nicknamed Tobaco), who discussed life in the Xixuau region of Brazil with CEN Director Robert Bortner, during a recent interview. Tobaco who is 33, is the president of Associação Amazônia, an association formed by a group of settlers to the region whom are actively involved in bringing about community-centric social development among communities in the Amazon. CEN has been facilitating exchanges of experiences between Xiauau and the other communities among which it is working: Suruacá and Maguary. 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 people are more concerned about social development: education, healthcare and infrastructure. To supplement his argument, Tobaco affirms that a visit by a dentist would generate more interest in the communities today than an evangelical preacher. Money is, however, not the main priority, he asserts. Traditional ways of community life still have a steadfast existence among the residents though, and life continues to be strongly community-based. He points out that the emphasis in the interior is first on the community, then the family and then the individual.

Igapo in the Xixuau Reserve

His top priorities as the President of the association are education, health and preserving the environment. Although cases of malaria are now quite rare due to a partnership with universities in Italy, the establishment a health center and a school in the community, "Education and health are still not great in the communities," he says. There is need for good schools, more medicine and regular doctors.

Tobaco is a firm believer in preserving the environment. Born in the state of Acre, near the western edge of the Brazilian Amazon, Tobaco spent a couple of years in Manaus before moving to Xixuau 13 years ago. Living in a part of the world that is nicknamed as the "World's Lungs", preservation of the environment is a top priority for the communities, he says. "I feel that preservation (of the environment) is the most important thing that I do since it guarantees a future for my own family and a future twenty years from now." However, as President of the association, he knows that he has to balance the development needs of the people to live in a close relationship with nature. "The problems we face exist all over the interior (of the country); it is the lack of a good school or a healthcare facility," he points out. "But today," he emphasizes, "life is much better."