Association in the Settlement Areas of the State of Maranhão (ASSEMA)

Some of the most important lessons I know about grassroots organizing come from the poet Wendell Berry, who advises, “Invest in the millennium; plant Sequoias.”

During our visit to Brazil earlier this month, Saulo Araujo and I met with Grassroots International’s partners and the communities in which they work. I had prepared myself to talk about a range of issues, from Creole seeds to water scarcity to land occupation. I hadn’t expected to hear so much about the importance of a dignified life.

Two weeks of steady rain have led to heavy flooding in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, the poorest state in Brazil.  Officials estimate that over 30,000 people have been displaced and that at least 6,000 have had their homes destroyed by the flood.  Assessment is still ongoing since many of the affected communities are very remote and roads are presently inaccessible.  Grassroo

The Association in the Settlement Areas of the State of Maranhão (ASSEMA) supports rural families struggling to remain on and make a living from land gained through land reform. An association of rural workers in northeastern Brazil, ASSEMA provides technical support to settler and Afro-Brazilian Quilombola families, helping them implement small-scale family agriculture and production. ASSEMA also organizes these communities to advocate for a more equitable distribution of resources to address the structural inequities that have kept the poor in Maranhão hungry for generations.

Imagine that your family, descended from freed slaves, has been working the same plot of land where your ancestors once toiled in bondage for generations. Now imagine waking up one morning to find that your government has sold the land out from under you to foreign speculators. What would you do?

When it happened to Dona Maria de Jesus, or Dona DeJe as she is affectionately called, she knew she had only one choice: fight for her community and for her rights.

Brazilian Bishop on Hunger Strike In Defense of Sao Francisco River