Echoes of the Territories: workshop brings together communities from the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Amazon regions for an exchange of knowledge.

An eco-social project is like a flowing river. It is born from a dream or simply from stubbornness. It flows through flowery fields, faces rocky terrain, and often needs to make turns to move forward. A project, which is a river, converges with other rivers: partners in the territory who strengthen community initiatives, other resources raised to complement the initial project, or even new families and communities that are added to the actions.

The Ecos Fund, conceived by the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), supports eco-social projects developed in the territories of indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, traditional communities and family farmers, especially in the Cerrado, Caatinga and Amazon biomes.

To promote the exchange of knowledge between projects, the "Echoes of the Territories" workshop was held in Brasília (DF), between August 18 and 20, bringing together 98 representatives from 50 projects approved in the 38th and 39th calls for proposals of the Fund, supported by Suzano, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The projects began in 2025 and are in their final stages.

Experiences that value territories and knowledge.

Among the experiences shared during the meeting was the Grota Quilombola initiative, supported by the Ecos Fund and led by the Quilombola Community of Palmeiras, in Bahia. This ethnic-racial-based tourism project contributes to strengthening traditions through sustainable tourism, valuing the culture, products, and knowledge of the community. Young Quilombola Alexandre Feliciano participated in Ecos dos Territórios representing the initiative.

“When we are recognized as quilombola people, we begin to carry a history and knowledge. But prejudice also becomes part of that recognition. Grota Quilombola emerged as a proposal to reverse this prejudice, with the aim of giving new meaning to our existence and valuing what is ours, our ancestry. It is a type of tourism where we recognize ourselves,” explains Alexandre.

The projects represented at the event are located in 10 Brazilian states and the Federal District. Through community engagement, the initiatives have already directly impacted 3.826 people, including 2.381 women, and involve 413 communities in the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Amazon biomes. The actions have also provided training to 2.500 people, promoting the sustainable use of 22 hectares of native vegetation and the agroecological management of another 320 hectares, in addition to contributing to the renovation, construction, or structuring of 15 agro-industries.

Youth, women and socio-biodiversity

An eco-social project is also a process of understanding one's own role in promoting socio-biodiversity. Young Karla Nogueira Santos, representative of the Association of Family Farmers and Agro-industries of Palmas (Agrop), a partner of the Family Agricultural School (EFA) of Porto Nacional (TO) in the execution of a supported initiative, talks about this process during her participation in Ecos dos Territórios.

“In my work, I can help local communities and get to know them, but beyond that, I can integrate myself into them. Through this project, I also understood myself better, learned more about myself and about what is around me in terms of environmental protection. It’s incredible to be able to participate in these projects, make a difference, and bring more young people to this cause as well,” comments Karla.

This discovery also appears in the experience of Heloísa Ferreira, representative of the project conducted by Casa Cerrado de Marias (DF) and student of Agroecology at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Brasília.

“This project helped me reclaim ancestral knowledge and pass it on to the youth. And so I am able to learn a little more about medicinal plants, not only through technical knowledge, but also through traditional knowledge and the wisdom of the Afro-Brazilian religious communities,” says Heloísa.

Building a community kitchen, implementing productive backyards, promoting youth training, strengthening women's participation, fostering agroecological production, restoring the land, influencing public policies… the objectives of an eco-social project are diverse, but the struggle for nature protection, socio-environmental justice, and well-being is common to all of them. Among the supported projects, 32 strengthen initiatives led by women and 18 develop actions with young people in the context of rural education.

Knowledge that strengthens the community.

For Arnold Fernandes Terena, of the Terena people in Mato Grosso do Sul, the project “Koyónoti Vemeuxá: training Terena environmental agents” contributed to strengthening traditional knowledge and bringing young people closer to their territory.

“This project helped Terena youth to learn more about their territory, to map it and manage it. It trained young Terena environmentalists so that, together with their leaders, chiefs and elder women, they can fight for the protection of our territory and seek improvements for our people,” she says.

According to Arnold, the project also allowed young people to discover places they were previously unaware of, including areas where traditional medicines are found, always accompanied by elders. "This project helped to value the identity of my people and to promote cultural and territorial awareness."

The experience of exchange between different projects also appears in the words of Giselia Alves dos Santos, representative of the Association of Solidarity Family Agro-extractivists of the Quilombola Community of Povoado Km 1700, in Maranhão. For her, being in contact with other initiatives allows them to share challenges, find new solutions, and realize that dreams that previously seemed individual can be transformed into collective constructions.

“It was an incredibly enriching moment, one that I will carry with me, because these are dreams that are coming true. And when we manage to connect with other dreams, we see that communities are awakening and that the feeling of development is born from the yearning of these communities. Challenges exist, but they are also being overcome during the execution of the projects,” he says.

Partnerships that reach the territories

More than just democratizing resources, the Ecos Fund promotes dialogue and values ​​knowledge produced by communities. In addition to supporting projects, the Fund conducts training and exchange activities, such as the participation of these communities in COP 30, held in Belém (PA) in 2025, and in the VI Brazilian Conference on Ecological Restoration, held in Brasília (DF) in 2026.

The partnership between institutions that support communities was also highlighted by BNDES during the event. The Bank's Environment Manager, Vanessa Mesquita, emphasized the importance of initiatives that bring resources closer to organizations that work directly in the territories.

“It’s very difficult for a bank to reach the grassroots, to get close to the communities. And it’s through institutions like ISPN that we can do that. These are very important projects that allow us to reach the territories with BNDES resources and support initiatives that have this sustainable development and that mainly focus on women and youth,” she stated.

According to Suzano's Sustainability consultant, Adilson Gonçalves Batista, working together with ISPN has allowed them to broaden the reach of resources and reach a greater number of communities than would have been possible with the company's structure alone. 

“Suzano always wanted to reach more communities, but with the resources and team it had, it couldn't do it this way. By allocating resources within this partnership, we were able to reach many more communities. It was Suzano's first experience in forming a partnership like this, and I think it was a brilliant move,” says Adilson.

Networking and community engagement were also highlighted by UNDP Brazil. According to Program Officer Gustavo Matsubara, the partnership with ISPN, built over 32 years, demonstrates the importance of collaboration between different actors to ensure that resources and development initiatives reach the territories. 

“In the context of international technical cooperation, nothing is built without the formation of networks, which, in turn, do not function without local engagement. Creating these opportunities, making this connection, and ensuring that resources reach the grassroots level is one of our goals. There is no prosperous and sustainable development without a focus on young people and women,” declares Gustavo.

The Echoes of the Territories workshop was an important point of convergence between the rivers flowing from each project. The waters bring memories and lessons, and the workshop, in turn, is like a beautiful waterfall, a space to contemplate all that has been achieved through the initiatives carried out by the people.

“The idea behind Ecos dos Territórios is also to promote self-evaluation. We have to look back and think about whether what was planned worked and what didn't, in order to improve management,” says Rodrigo Noleto, coordinator of the Community Initiatives Program at ISPN.

Author: Bruna Braz / Socio-environmental Analyst at ISPN 

Support: Ariel Rocha and Amanda Vieira/ISPN Communications Office