A financial education workshop brought together more than 70 people from the indigenous territories of Zoro People, Apiaka, Kayabi and Munduruku in Mato Grosso. The initiative is part of the Man Gap project, developed by Zoró Pangyjej Indigenous Peoples Association – APIZ.
THE Finance Workshop for the management of the Indigenous Solidarity Revolving Fund It was given by representatives of Sitawi and the Man Gap project and aimed to provide financial knowledge to train indigenous communities and leaders who will receive and manage the Revolving Fund, aimed at developing the Amazon nut value chain, through the construction and improvement of processing factories for this almond, which are being created in these territories.
Among the project's advances, the structuring of the Solidarity Revolving Fund Indigenous, led by Sitawi Finanças do Bem, which will have an initial contribution from REM MT Program and aims to provide financial support to these people, promoting the working capital necessary for the execution of the project's actions. The objective is to support the communities' productive organizations in the long term, promoting their financial autonomy and sustainability in productive activities — especially those related to brunette from the Amazon.
“The finance workshop was essential for our management. We were able to understand a little about how this resource management issue works. It is very important and is showing very positive results for the Zoró people. This strengthens us even more, as we are on the association’s board. This is something unprecedented for our people.”, comments Alexander, indigenous leader of the Zoró Pangyjej Indigenous People’s Association – APIZ.
The workshop
During the workshop, it was possible to exchange ideas and learn about finances, focusing on the cash flow statement and the accounts that comprise it, such as revenue, costs, expenses and profit margins. This allowed participants to have a more strategic vision and think about appropriate pricing for each product, thus generating more income for the indigenous peoples who extract chestnuts.
The participatory methodology ensured that the results were not only focused on the leaders, but on the entire community, building collective knowledge so that they could help each other effectively.
“One of the most interesting lessons was about the need and importance of having a real scenario and not an ideal one, in order to have a cash flow that is consistent with the reality of the cooperative or organization. We were able to understand the importance of analyzing each flow to reach the result, with a financial education that is more appropriate for our reality,” he comments. Ligia Neiva, Technician at Funai CTL Rondolândia/MT, who has worked with the Zoró People for 35 years in the areas of ethnodevelopment, social services and education.
The importance of chestnuts
The main advantage of building chestnut processing factories in the territories is the increase in income and gives autonomy of extractive communities. According to calculations carried out during the workshops, the processed chestnut is worth ten times more than the in nature — as it is currently sold.
Second Ana Beatriz Villela, senior coordinator of Impact Investment at Sitawi, the workshop was able to make clear the increase in income for families in the communities. “The importance was to show the value of these agro-industries for the territory because they did not know how much of an impact they can have financially. We were able to show with data, numbers and examples the difference between selling the nuts in nature and the beneficiary. They were able to take ownership of the project and have the prospect of better conditions through it”, he highlights.
John Montenegro, Impact Investment analyst at Sitawi, highlights the importance of multiplying wealth through organic products from sociobiodiversity for these people. “This is an old dream of the people. They said in the workshops that these factories were already dreamed of by their parents, grandparents, who always lived in this context of selling in nature and they always wanted to get out of that, to have a better perspective. And the most important thing of all was to maintain indigenous leadership in the management of these factories and this Fund. We knew that it wouldn't make sense to bring non-indigenous people to take care of this”, he reinforces.
Collective efforts that ensure change
The initiatives were made possible by the REM MT Program, a contribution from the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom, which benefits those who contribute to forest conservation actions. Ana Beatriz emphasizes the importance of the connection between indigenous communities and government and philanthropic initiatives that aim to promote forest conservation and the socio-environmental development of the territory.
“Through these initiatives, it is possible to contribute to keeping the forest standing, promoting the autonomy of indigenous peoples, considering their cultural and traditional specificities,” he comments. The involvement of different stakeholders and the union of efforts and resources, both from the private and government sectors, are essential to guarantee a more sustainable future.
“The generation of this wealth locally boosts the economy, directly and indirectly, favoring a network of small businesses that provide services and/or sell products to indigenous people, multiplying this capital within the same region where the chestnut is produced. This is the concept of a sustainable economy: value chains developed with low greenhouse gas emissions, favoring the local consumption of organic products with high nutritional value by the population of the region, gender and generational inclusion, social inclusion and, above all, ensuring the conservation of this natural heritage that is the Amazon rainforest.”, commented Paulo Nunes, coordinator of the Man Gap Project.
