Future agenda

The Future Agenda project was born in 2014 to identify the collective dreams of the population of Serra do Salitre, Minas Gerais, and to create a task force made of residents, public authorities, business owners, youth and educators to make those dreams come about. By doing so, we believe we contribute to promoting the development of the region in a more sustainable, organized and democratic way.

After a year formatting the Future Agenda, presenting the diagnosis to the community, planning and training events and executing the first actions, in 2016 we improved and consolidated the project in Serra do Salitre.

In May, about 160 people of all ages, teachers, local organizations and representatives of the government attended the event that launched the Future Agenda of Serra do Salitre Bid. The focus was to encourage people and organizations to create projects on the themes set out in the Agenda (Education, Environment, Health and Tourism) and to invest in good existing initiatives.

We received 20 projects, which went through an evaluation stage. The five selected projects were announced in September:

Company Category

1. Pedalendo na Biblioteca (Education), Marlene Maria Alves Luiz
2. Conhecer para Preservar - Natural Heritage Charter of Serra do Salitre (Environment and Tourism), Cláudia Daniella Costa Alves
3. Brincando e Aprendendo (Education), Letícia de Souza Vieira

Individual Category

1. A Arte em Forma de Expressão (Education and Environment), Simone Maria da Silva Quitéria
2. Música na Escola (Education), Anderson Neves Cunha

The following stages of the project included training meetings and knowledge sharing among the selected candidates, specialists and local leaders who had worked in the programs of the Lina Galvani Institute. In the “Networked Entrepreneurs”, workshop, the participants exchanged experiences and knowledge about the projects. Furthermore, with the guidance of consultant Carlos Alberto Lopes, Development Manager of Senac São Paulo and specialist in the area of social development, they participated in practical activities and discussions about community networking.

I found the methodology very interesting, with debates, talk circles and practical activities. Every moment was a new discovery!

Silvana Maria de Souza Ferreira, participant of the "Networked Entrepreneurs" workshop

Another result of the Future Agenda project in Serra do Salitre is the Social Mobilization Committee, formed by 12 leaders from different segments. In 2016, we held meetings with the group to address the matters raised during the process. The talks culminated in the first edition of Serra em Ação, a free event with the objective of mobilizing and impacting the community, in November. We gathered 76 volunteers in this activity, which attracted an audience of approximately two thousand people. It is important to note that over 50% of Serra em Ação's funds were raised by the Committee.

Socioproductive Inclusion

An economic transformation is under way in the community of Angico dos Dias, in Campo Alegre de Lourdes (BA). Since 2013, when we started the Socioproductive Inclusion Project, we made several achievements that are helping residents to guarantee complementary income generation, one of the key objectives of this initiative.

The businesses created from this project are the result of a step-by-step development process based on the principles of the Institute's methodology. In the beginning, with the help of researchers from the Technological Incubator of Popular Cooperatives of Fundação Getulio Vargas, we identified local opportunities and market niches.

In the next phase, the Instituto de Socioeconomia Solidária (ISES) came on the stage and helped us with the technical guidelines for the next step, the Inclusive Business Incubation Project. Based on the Income Generation Group of Angico, Peixe and Region, four groups were created: Horta Esperança, Doce como o Sertão, Flor do Sertão and Rede Mãos de Fada (which later on no longer fit with the scope of the project, since it was formed by individual and not collective undertakings).

In 2016, we closed the second incubation cycle of these basic economy ventures. At that stage, the focus was on collaboration between groups, the development of partnerships between them and the strengthening of the collective initiative.

In the second half of the year we continued without the partnership with ISES. We sought to improve the work that had been carried out with a wide calendar of activities involving training, intensive advisory and strategic activities with the groups, in which the following stood out:

Flor do Sertão

The group created a page on Facebook to advertise their products. They also got a new logo, inspired by the passion fruit flower. In addition, they were trained on fashion design and sewing machines. Flor do Sertão was able to increase the sales of its products and finished the year in negotiation with Galvani to make items such as cases for mobile phones and bags, in an agreement estimated at 2,000 BRL. Average increment of 99.72% in each participant’s income.

Doce como o Sertão

Partnerships with new customers, such as restaurants and companies, besides greater publicity and participation in events, such as the celebrations of the patron of Angico dos Dias, increased the group's sales. The products have also been improved, with new branded packaging and identification. In July, members participated in a workshop on sweets and food preservation techniques, fruit syrup and brandy recipes, among other tips to make their products even better. Average invrement of 50% in each participant’s income.

It was my first time in the course and I thought it was very good! I learned a lot more about the business, and now, with all the quality sweets that we can make, we can sell more, in more places. This is the idea: to grow more and more!

Nathália, member of Doce como o Sertão

We've already created a Doce como o Sertão group on WhatsApp to promote our work and soon we'll have a Facebook page. We also intend to have a place to display our products for sale and advertise them in local stores. Workshops like this are important because they help us generate more income not just for ourselves, but for the community as a whole.

Kauane, member of Doce como o Sertão

Horta Esperança

The group increased its irrigated area to improve production and sales. In partnership with EMBRAPA (Agricultural Research Company), we conducted a course to improve planting techniques and the irrigation system.

All socioproductive businesses also played an active role in the 2nd Exhibition Fair of the Social Network of Angico and Guests, in September. They exhibited and sold their products, and also held the event together, strengthening their partnership and enhancing the collective initiative in the second cycle of the Inclusive Business Incubation Project. Average increment of 99.72% in each participant’s income.

Social Network Strengthening

Five years ago, we planted a seed in the community of Angico dos Dias, in the outback of Bahia. The dream: to create an atmosphere of mass articulation and collective efforts to promote local development. Thus was born the Rede Social Angico, Peixe e Região. (Social Network of Angico, Peixe and Region). This remarkable date made the year 2016 especially significant for our work in the community.

Although relatively young, the Social Network has already achieved a lot. This includes the São José square, a joint effort that gathered 230 volunteers and 90 employees; the pavement of the main street of the village; the installation of 53 cisterns to collect rainwater; the donation of 300 clay filters to the inhabitants and improvements in the water well that supplies one hundred families, among other results.

In addition to these occasional projects, the Social Network expanded its activities and multiplied its forces with the creation of the following groups: Diversão Não Tem Idade(Ageless Fun), focused on the well-being of the elderly, Incentivo à Leitura, (Reading Incentive), with focus on children and young people, and Resgate Histórico e Cultural (Historical and Cultural Rescue), to attach value to local knowledge. Today, more than 70 people actively participate in these groups, and many more appear in task forces, events and actions.

The Social Network brings a lot of good things to us. It allows residents to come together to discuss community improvements and pursue those goals. It's a very important space for conversation, exchange of information and accomplishments for us.

Jonas Fernandes da Silva, participant of the Social Network

The fifth anniversary of the Social Network was celebrated in an event that brought together its members, partners and supporters in September. In the same month, the date was also celebrated during the 2nd Exhibition Fair of the Angico Social Network and Guests. At the event, the Ageless Fun and Reading Incentive groups delighted the visitors with performances, whereas the socio-productive projects, which were born in the network, marketed their handmade products. This edition of the Exhibition was attended by invited speakers from Campo Alegre de Lourdes and the municipality of Caracol (PI), expanding the local network and spreading the word to other communities in the region.

This exchange with other communities is important for us to learn what they produce and for them to see what we are doing in Angico dos Dias. Ageless Fun, for example, has already encouraged the creation of other elderly groups in the region. We are very proud of it!

Cícera Pereira da Silva, participant of the Social Network

Over 2016, we continued to improve the Social Network groups with financial investment, articulation and training with the aim of boosting their actions and expanding the target audience. In December, we held Leadership Training sessions, a 16-hour course in which topics such as engagement and commitment, recognition and skill development, and the role of leadership in group development were addressed.

Activities like this are strategic and fundamental for us to enhance the sense of community belonging, engagement and leadership in front-line people. By doing so, we can turn thoughts into concrete actions, supported by the direct involvement of the community in articulated partnerships.

Rafael Art, Project Analyst at the Institute

Participatory Diagnosis

What is your neighborhood like? What is the neighborhood you would like to live in like? What if we thought about it together? It was with these questions that we invited residents of the Jardim das Acácias neighborhood, in Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA), for the first stage of the Participatory Diagnosis. It jump-started the comprehensive work that we are going to do in the municipality with focus on community development, one of the key missions of our Institute in the places where we operate.

In January 2016, we did an initial a first survey in the neighborhoods of Jardim das Acácias, Vereda Tropical and Jardim Ipê, located around the Galvani plant. The survey gave us a local diagnosis of the opportunities, engagement, active social organizations, possible changes and improvements in local infrastructure etc.

In two meetings with the residents of Jardim das Acácias, in February, we presented the Participatory Diagnosis proposition and began a dialogue on the main local demands to identify the most pressing themes for the community.

We systematized the gathered information and, in March, we presented the results and the macro topics we found: education, spaces of participation, infrastructure, leisure and culture, health and safety. As a final result of the meeting, the following steps were validated with the residents:

• Expanding the conversation to two other neighboring districts (Jardim Ipê and Vereda Tropical).
• Determining more effective strategies to bring the community together, considering the local reality.
• Creating strategies to maintain the group active and further the dialogue with the community.
• Organizing the Mixed Management Group, with the participation of representatives of the public sector, community, Galvani and Lina Galvani Institute. The group will be responsible for articulating and mobilizing the community to produce management suggestions.
• Suggesting to start local actions by the most relevant topic raised (education), with the proposal to develop a project that meets three demands: strengthening the school as a space for social change in the neighborhood; creating a participatory and active parent-teacher association; fostering student groups that help support youth-oriented activities in schools.

In 2016 we implemented the last two points above.

Rua Viva

Creating a space to discuss the issue of garbage and its disposal, as well as to find ways to improve community life and build common spaces. This is the focus of the Rua Viva project we conducted in Jaguaré, São Paulo. It was launched last year to strengthen ties and contribute to the community development of this region, in which the Galvani company is inserted.

In 2016, Rua Viva projects addressed the issue of inadequate waste disposal, its consequences and possible solutions. The topics were exposed through fun activities, workshops for adults and children and informative chats. The meetings were also an opportunity to address other issues affecting the community, such as violence against women.

A specialist in environmental education, Instituto Reiventar was once and again our great partner in this project. They helped us over the entire process and in the organization of Rua Viva, as important agents of mobilization in the Jaguaré community.

In the first Rua Viva of 2016, we talked about the various diseases that the incorrect disposal can cause, such as dengue fever. We had anti-dengue flowerpots, in which the mosquito does not have access to water. We also presented some natural repellents, for protection against the mosquito. In the second action of the year, we talked about planting in plastic bottles and set up a playground, like in previous editions. We believe that if children become aware of this process and receive environmental education, they can become great multipliers of the message, spreading the word to their homes.

Roseli Barbosa, partner of Instituto Reinventar

During the year, we maintained our participation in the Rede Jaguaré Mais Feliz which, at the suggestion of the Lina Galvani Institute, adopted "waste disposal" as the flagship topic in 2016. This contact brought several organizations from the neighborhood closer to us and encouraged new partnerships for collective actions. We also deepened our dialogue with companies such as Loga, responsible for the collection of garbage, and Inova, which works in the collection of debris.

A cistern for the school

The Social Network of Angico, Peixe and Region finished 2016 with an accomplishment they had been long fighting for: a cistern in the João Francisco da Silva Municipal School, in the community of Angico dos Dias.

The institution was included in the Cisterna na Escola project, of the ASA (Brazilian Semiarid Articulation) network, and was given a water box of 52 thousand liters of water. Now, students, staff and teachers are free of water shortages, a common issue in this semiarid region of Bahia.

The cistern is a great achievement for the Angico, Peixe and Region Social Network Education group, which supported the initiative, went after publicity and articulated the community to get this project done.

José Filho, local agent of the Institute in Campo Alegre de Lourdes