The "right to adequate housing" is on the roster of basic rights of the Brazilian Constitution, but the housing deficit and the inadequacy of existing homes, such as "favelas" (slums), are a social problem in Brazil. In 2008 the housing deficit (taking into account the total number of families living in poor housing conditions) reached 5.8 million households, representing 10.1% of total households in the country*.

Ação Moradia (Action Housing)
Uberlândia, Minas Gerais

A BrazilFoundation grantee in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2011

Ação Moradia was founded in 2000 in Uberlandia, in the State of Minas Gerais, and was inspired by the housing deficiency faced by the local community. Its main goal is to improve the quality of life of at-risk families through the construction of affordable housing taking into account environmental preservation. The organization also fosters social community enterprises and promotes food security and responsible citizenship projects.

Ação Moradia developed the Tijolos Ecológicos (Ecological Bricks) project, which uses a technology that employs as raw material a mixture of soil and cement, in a simple process of hand pressing and airing. The technology avoids the use of furnaces and burning wood or oil, which pollute the environment. Through its methodology, families make their own eco-bricks and build their own homes with quality and at a low cost (saving more than 30% on the total cost of building a house). Since 2003, Ação Moradia has produced around 860,000 ecological bricks, preventing the burn of 123,000 trees (for each 1,000 bricks produced 7 trees are preserved. To this day, a total of 65 houses as well as the organization headquarters have been built through this process. Besides the project for environmentally sustainable construction, the organization runs 13 social projects for the local community. The factory, which makes ecological brick factory and solar heaters, is run entirely by a female staff from the local community. Ação Moradia provides a daycare adjacent to the factory for the workers' children. The factory not only creates jobs but also generates income through the production and selling of the ecological bricks. The organization also has an important role in mobilizing housing finance agencies to obtain the necessary financial resources, and in registering and structuring its methodology in order to be replicated throughout other municipalities. Until now the project has benefited more than 2,800 families.

To learn more about Ação Moradia, please visit http://acaomoradia.org.br

Source: Ministerio das Cidades (Ministry of Cities), based on the study by Fundação João Pinheiro (João Pinheiro Foundation.)

Although Brazil possesses 12%* of all the freshwater in the world, this resource does not reach the most vulnerable populations, especially communities in the Brazilian semiarid countryside. The social effect of long periods of drought is compounded by lack of investment in infrastructure and compatible public policies. Today, 36 million Brazilians living in the region face social challenges arising from lack of access to water.*

Centro de Educação Popular e Formação Social – CEPFS (Center for Popular Education and Social Formation)
Teixeira, Paraiba

Organization supported by BrazilFoundation in 2006, 2008 and 2011

CEPFS was established in 1986 in Teixeira, in the state of Paraiba, and seeks to promote sustainable development in the Brazilian semiarid region. The organization empowers local families and develops social environmental technologies for water and genetic resources.

The organization is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of innovative technologies to capture, manage and treat the water that will be used throughout the year. The cisterns are one of the technologies developed, which helps to improve the quality of consumable water. The contruction of cisterns is also very important for preventing diseases caused by contaminated water, the leading cause of infant mortality in the semiarid region. The technologies implemented through CEPFS allow the storage of 15 million liters of water in 950 cisterns. In the area of genetic resources, the organization runs the "Banco de Sementes Comunitários" (Seed Bank) project that facilitates access to seeds for the local community. The Seed Bank has the capacity to store 25,922 tons of seeds per year and has 474 members, 50, 2% of whom are women. Also, the strengthening of community ties contributes to the implementation of a community fund, which supports the development of social enterprises and is a relief fund for local families. CEPFS' technologies have benefited 5,700 people from rural communities who suffer from drought in the semiarid region. Today these families have improved their living conditions through the improvement of water storage conditions and increase in their agricultural production.

If you want to know more about CEPFS visit the Website: http://www.cepfs.org/

* Almanaque Brasil Socioambiental (Brazil Socio-Environmental Almanac), 2005.

According to 2000 Census, about 14.5% of the Brazilian population is disabled, representing 24.5 million people. Although the number is significant, those with disabilities still face discrimination and have difficulty in classrooms, with transportation, in the practice of sport, culture and leisure, and in finding a job. The employment of the disabled is still an issue despite an existing law that requires some employers to comply with minimum quotas for hiring people with disabilities. These people need structure and equal opportunities to advance in a more autonomous and independent way.

Associação de Paraplégicos de Uberlândia – APARU
Uberlândia, Minas Gerais

Organization supported by BrazilFoundation in 2003, 2005 and 2011

Founded in 1979, APARU is an organization established and led by people with physical disabilities for the defense of human rights and the improvement of the quality of life for the disabled. Since its inception, the organization has contributed to the empowerment and rehabilitation of people with disabilities through professional training to enter the labor market, sports training, cultural and social activities. The organization also provides assistance in the areas of physiotherapy, psychology, social work and legal advice.

APARU has had a strong role in influencing authorities to equip the city of Uberlândia to better service people with disabilities. Some of its projects are nationally known, such as the campaign "Uberlândia Without Barriers" and the proposition of public civil actions to make the interstate public transportation accessible to people with physical disabilities. Currently, APARU is working in partnership with the local authorities and is developing campaigns for athletes with disabilities as well as creating awareness campaigns against discrimination. The organization is also working to improve the level of education of the disabled, which is key to increasing the employment rate, by establishing partnerships with universities and technical schools. In 2003, BrazilFoundation supported the project "Qualificando para Empregar" (Qualifying to Employ) and since then it has helped to employ 367 people with physical disabilities (an average of 52 people per year). The support gave credibility to an organization that is a reference point for 100 local companies seeking qualified disabled people for employment. Among many awards received by the organization, in 2010, APARU received the Human Rights award in the category "Guarantee of the Rights of People with Disabilities", granted by the Human Rights Secretariat of the Brazilian President.

To learn more about APARU visit the Website: http://www.aparu.org.br/

According to the IBGE census of 2000, urban youth aged 18 or older have an educational level 50% higher than those who live in the countryside. It is worth mentioning that 10% of rural young people are illiterate and 80% of them need to move to urban centers to have access to education. Besides illiteracy, Brazil still has to deal with critical issues in education, such as student failure, school dropout rates, and quality of education. All of them have a direct impact on the ability of young people to enter Universities. In 2010, only 14% of young people between 18 and 24 years were enrolled in University. The education deficit is an essential issue for the economic, political and social development of Brazil. *

Instituto Coração de Estudante (The Heart of the Student Institute)

Organization supported by BrazilFoundation in 2003, 2005, 2010 and 2011

Instituto Coração de Estudante was created in 1994 in the community of Cipó in Pentecoste, in the State of Ceara. Many students from rural areas had to quit school when they finished elementary school since there were neither high schools available nor school transportation.

Manoel Andrade, a former resident and teacher at the Federal University of Ceara, returned to his hometown to start an innovative educational project. Based on a methodology of cooperation, he trained seven young people from the community to enter the university. The first place where he was teaching, an abandoned flour mill, became a community school with over 800 students. The students are organized in small groups and they exchange learning to pass the University Entrance Exam, guided by university students who participated in the program in the past. Importantly, ninety per cent of alumni who benefited from the initiative return to their communities on weekends and share knowledge with new students, enabling these students to have access to quality higher education. This commitment provides continuity and sustainability to the program

With the support from BrazilFoundation in 2003, it was possible to train 30 young people as multipliers who were encouraged to create small pre-university centers in their communities. Today 8 Municipalities of Ceará and 14 Popular Cooperative Schools apply the methodology. The program has already enabled the entry of approximately 400 students in Universities, 54 of whom have already graduated, with 18 enrolled in master's and doctoral programs. The Institute is a national reference model in education.

If you want to know more about the organization visit the Website: http://coracaodestudante.blogspot.com

Almost half of Brazil's active population (49.6%) is located in rural areas*, developing activities related to agro-ranching and natural resource management. The rural population struggles against social challenges caused by unequal distribution of land, lack of investment in infrastructure, and lack of adequate public policies to directly impact their education, health, and safety. It is important to make family farming viable and contribute to local production in order to generate work and income in the countryside. * IBGE

Centro de Agricultura Alternativa Vicente Nica – CAV (Vicente Nica Center for Alternative Agriculture – CAV)

Organization supported by BrazilFoundation in 2007, 2010 and 2011.

The exodus of rural families in search of better living conditions was a common challenge faced by the residents of the Jequitinhonha Valley. CAV was founded in 1994, aiming to support local farmers and their families by encouraging alternative and sustainable farming practices. CAV develops programs in five different areas, covering 34 municipalities in the Jequitinhonha Valley. Among these programs, there is one focused on agroforestry and another that aims to build cisterns to capture rain water. The organization also manages a community fund that enables farmers and their families to attain loans with minimum interest rate, contributing to an increase their productivity, while generating jobs and income.

The "Popular Solidarity Economy Program", one of five programs offered by CAV, allows farmers to receive training in sustainable practices and to be qualified to better manage and sell their products at the local farmer's market. BrazilFoundation support was an important step for the Center to become recognized as a leader in the movement for small farmers throughout the region to establish the local farmer's market. The market is an important channel for selling goods and it contributed to improvement in the lives of the farmers while strengthening their ties with the land. During BrazilFoundation's support in 2007, the number of associated farmers increased from 35 to 76, reaching 111, and the community investment fund investment grew to 6 times its previous size. Besides the improvements in the organization, farmers' techniques and productivity also improved. The organization has a Training Center which covers an area of 13 hectares and benefits 1,000 farmers, technicians and / or students on exchange activities, offering training in agro ecology and specific courses related to family farming and environment. CAV has an important role in influencing discussions and implementation of public policies in favor of local farmers within the Municipal Council of Turmalina.

If you want to know more about the organization visit the Website: http://www.cavjequi.org/

Training Center
US$ 188 (R$ 300.00) = Cost per month of infrastructure maintenance US$ 313 (RS$ 500.00) = Cost per month of Raw Materials for the maintenance of crops and livestock

The coastline of Brazil, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, is more than nine thousand miles long. The population of coastal cities that live from fishing activities suffer from water pollution, the effects of overfishing, and exploitation from middlemen. Some people living in the Perequê beach, located in the state of São Paulo, who depend on fishing, suffer similar challenges. Unregulated fishing reduces the amount of fish, while real estate speculation contributes to the exodus of these local communities.

Instituto Maramar para o Manejo Responsável dos Recursos Naturais

Organization supported by BrazilFoundation in 2006 and 2007

Instituto Maramar was established in 2002 and works with local fishing organizations on socio-environmental projects to promote the conservation of marine and coastal areas in Santos, in the State of São Paulo. Instituto Maramar works with fishing communities to promote sustainable exploration of marine resources, encouraging production and commercialization through associations and cooperatives and proving training. The Institute also mobilizes the community to engage government representatives with the goal of influencing conservation policies.

With a grant received from BrazilFoundation in 2006 for the project Casa Perequê (Perequê House), the Institute trained 100 people, among fishermen, shrimp shellers and others involved in the supply chain, for an ecologically and socially sustainable process. Furthermore, it was possible to improve the infrastructure of Perequê community to develop social activities. The support received by BrazilFoundation in 2007 was dedicated to the Responsible Management of "Sete Barbas" Shrimp, an expansion of activities already undertaken during the House of Perequê, achieving 4 different communities and 200 fishermen. The focus this time was to extend the training workshops about responsible management of marine resources, aiming to educate fishermen about the use of responsible fishing techniques to reduce the impacts on marine environments. This way, Instituto Maramar was able to mobilize the local community and submit a proposal which seeks to create public policies and regulations for the proper use and management of marine and coastal environments.

If you want to know more about the Maramar Institute, please visit: http://maramar.org.br/

In the Amazon, 3.8 million people live in extreme poverty, with incomes less than $1 per day. More than 10 million live on less than $2 per day, totaling 45% of the population of the region*. This reality is exacerbated by an absence of programs to generate employment and income, and due to development policies that encourage deforestation and the expansion of extensive livestock ranching. The Amazonian challenge is to promote economic and social development in a sustainable manner. Investment in sustainable development, with income generation for local populations, is crucial to the transformation of the current reality, and the preservation of natural resources

Cooperativa de Oficinas Caboclos - OCT (Cooperative of Rural Workshops)

Organization supported by BrazilFoundation in 2007

The Cooperative of Rural Workshops started in 2000 in Surucua and Nuquini communities and was expanded to reach other communities. Nowadays, the Cooperative is formed by six communities, three of which are located in the Tapajos National Forest (FLONA) and three others are located in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Reserve. There are 56 craftsmen involved, producing handmade furniture such as benches, tables and house appliances. Craftsmen work in community spaces with manual and simple tools and the furniture they produce expresses the culture of the Tapajos community. The Cooperatives only uses environmentally friendly wood, thus preserving the local forest**.

BrazilFoundation's support enabled 18 craftsmen to be trained in business management, finance and sales, related to the products produced by the Cooperative. They established a shop in the center of the city of Santarém to sell their products nationally and internationally. The main markets to sell the furniture are shops from Santarém, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The experience of the Cooperative is contributing directly to community development, generating income for families and enabling the creation of community development funds. The production of furniture tripled the daily income of 89 households in six communities of Tapajós Forest. Before this, the local community depended only on agriculture, and the average daily income was around R$ 6, 30 (US$4.00). With the furniture production and sale it was possible to earn more than R$20 (US$12.00) per day***.

Sources: *Ipea, 2006, ** IPAM- Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (The Environmental Research Institute of the Amazon), ***Instituto Percepção( Perception Institute.)