Until April, every Tuesday will feature new content about the diversity of Brazilian populations.
ISPN, IPAM, and Rede Cerrado are jointly launching a series of posts about the diversity and lifestyles of traditional peoples and communities in Brazil, aimed exclusively at the organizations' social media networks. The goal is to reach a broad audience, especially those unfamiliar with the country's plurality, populated by different traditional segments that live, produce, and conserve the environment. The awareness campaign begins this February and runs until the end of April, with new content every Tuesday.
Beyond indigenous and quilombola communities, Brazil has dozens of other segments of traditional peoples with representation on the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities. These include gatherers of everlasting flowers, babaçu coconut breakers, geraizeiros (traditional inhabitants of the Gerais region), Araguaia riverbank dwellers, fundo and fecho de pasto communities (traditional grazing communities), artisanal fishermen, and many others. Despite the recognition granted by the State through federal legislation, these communities still suffer from the invisibility imposed upon them, which hinders access to public policies that address their needs.
A mapping project carried out in part of the Cerrado biome by IPAM and ISPN, in partnership with the Cerrado Network, which considered an area of 320 km² in the "Matopiba" region (borders between the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia), shows the existence of 3,5 times more traditional peoples and communities than official data reveals. This number illuminates a problem of national importance: the invisibility of hundreds of populations. The "Roots" series of social media posts therefore aims to encourage broad recognition of these communities and raise awareness about the diverse ways of life that exist in Brazilian territory.