By Andreza Andrade
Guided by sensitivity, solidarity and empathy, Guajajara indigenous women from the Caru Indigenous Land, located in the west of the State of Maranhão, carry out environmental and territorial management actions on their ancestral lands. These women form the Guerreiras da Floresta collective, which since 2014 has supported and promoted territorial protection actions together with the Guardians of the Forest, in defense of indigenous territories and cultures.
The TI Caru Warriors' mission is to protect 173 thousand hectares of demarcated indigenous land. This territory also forms the Gurupi Mosaic, a set of protected areas that shelter the largest portion of the Amazon Forest in the State of Maranhão, and therefore represents an important environmental and cultural heritage for the entire region. However, all this socio-environmental wealth is constantly threatened by deforestation and illegal activities such as logging, hunting and fishing, carried out by non-indigenous invaders.
The fight for territorial integrity in the Caru TI had been waged for years by the Guardians of the Forest, a group made up of indigenous men who work to defend the territory. In their actions, the Guardians traveled throughout the Indigenous Land in order to identify illicit activities and report them to the competent bodies. From the emergence of the Warriors, this battle gained new meanings with the insertion of the vision of indigenous women in the search for new strategies for territorial defense. In addition to strengthening the role of women in community decision-making spaces, the reflections that the Warriors made after the numerous patrolling expeditions carried out together with the Guardians, demonstrated that the actions should go beyond the borders of indigenous territories, reaching the surrounding villages , only in this way would they be able to better understand the reality of the invaders and thus sensitize them more effectively.
Thus, the Forest Warriors began an agenda of constant visits to the villages surrounding the TI Caru with the aim of promoting dialogues and socio-educational awareness campaigns. During these visits, the Warriors address the importance of environmental conservation of the forest and ecosystem services that extend to indigenous and non-indigenous people. Indigenous cultures are also presented, as many people from these locations are unaware that the territory in question is an Indigenous Land demarcated and traditionally inhabited by original peoples. The Warriors also explain the role of the Guardians of the Forest, thus seeking to raise awareness among everyone as a way of avoiding any form of conflict. “We never know how they will receive us, but we need to continue doing this work, as we know the importance of knowing the situation of these villages”, says Marcilene Guajajara, leader and one of the founders of the collective.
It was through these visits that the Warriors also realized the countless difficulties that these people experience in their daily lives and that this could be a factor that triggers the invasions. “Public policies are not enough for these people, there are villages that do not have any school or health center, the state of extreme social vulnerability of these families is very clear”, reports Maísa Guajajara, one of the collective’s leaders.
“Our territory is disrespected, they ruin everything on their side and come here to our side so they can feed their children”, added Dona Maria Guajajara. The Warriors recognize the complexities surrounding this situation. At the same time that they need to protect the territory against invasions, they also understand that these people live in constant helplessness. With each visit made, the Warriors returned to their villages asking themselves how they could help improve the quality of life of those families.
The “Tracing New Paths for Good Living” Project
The opportunity to help these villages arose in November 2021, when the Guerreiras da Floresta, through the Wirazu association, entered into a partnership with the Instituto Sociedade, População e Natureza (ISPN) and the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice (RFJS ) to implement the project “Tracking New Paths for Good Living”. The initiative aims to offer families or individuals in these villages a small line of financing via microprojects, for the development of productive initiatives such as vegetable gardens, gardens and fruit trees/backyards; reforestation/nursery and small animal husbandry. The initiative provides the value of 2 thousand reais for each selected microproject. In this way, the action constitutes an important help for these communities to develop their productive activities, while at the same time contributing to environmental conservation and the livelihoods of their villages and indigenous territories.
The project began in January with a diagnostic activity, where the Warriors visited some villages to talk about the initiative and identify priority locations. “We saw their happiness when we talked about our project”, said Rosilene Guajajara, another leader belonging to the collective. Between February and March, the Warriors, together with the ISPN technical team, prepared a specific microproject notice for the action and presented it on site in the listed villages. 42 proposals were received and will be evaluated in the coming weeks. After selection, the resource will be made available directly to the current accounts of families who have had their projects approved. At the end of the initiative, beneficiaries must present an activity execution report. The monitoring and monitoring of each microproject will be carried out by the Guerreiras da Floresta themselves, in partnership with the ISPN technical team.
The initiative is being monitored by a team of indigenous communicators from TI Caru who are recording all stages of its implementation through photographs and filming. The idea is that at the end of the project, the entire story of the leading role of indigenous women in conducting this project will be told in a documentary that has the indigenous voice and perspective on the process. The project is also producing two video animations about the microprojects that will serve as teaching material and help with understanding how to submit proposals and manage them.
The Superintendent Director of ISPN, Cristiane Azevedo, believes that the project adds to the most diverse innovative ways that indigenous women and men adopt to take care of their territories in this portion of the Maranhão Amazon. “It is with great satisfaction that we support this initiative led by the Guerreiras da Floresta. The project is integrated with relevant environmental and territorial management strategies carried out by women's collectives and groups of Guardians of the Forest in the Gurupi Mosaic region”, he emphasized.
Rosilene Guajajara recognizes that there are many challenges in implementing an initiative of this type. Mainly because there are very different ways of thinking between indigenous and non-indigenous people. “We think collectively and they think individually, I see that this suffering they go through is because they are not organized, they do not have a community association, that is why we talk about the importance of being organized to strengthen themselves, only then will they achieve things”, he stated. Chief Antônio Wilson Guajajara, from the Maçaranduba village (TI Caru), is a supporter and encourager of the initiative. For him, the project, although small, will bring great results. “This initiative is unique in Maranhão because it is the first time that an indigenous people has given this opportunity to a non-indigenous people. This project increases the hope that the forest will remain standing and that these Caraiu (non-indigenous) people will have better living conditions. ”, he stated.
