Brazil is the new epicentre of the #Covid19 pandemic. With slow vaccination, 3,000+ daily deaths and virtually no support from the federal government, many Brazilians no longer have food on the table every day.

From the chaos, a story of resistance has emerged! See thread:

Our story begins in the Quilombos os Vale do Ribeira, in São Paulo state. Quilombos are communities of black ancestry who have developed forms of resistance in order to maintain and reproduce their characteristic ways of life.

The Quilombola way of life makes it possible to produce 70+ varieties of food without using pesticides or cutting down the Atlantic Forest, the most threatened tropical forest in the world. It is a type of forest management that produces more forests. See this video:

Since March 2020, the Quilombola Farmers' Cooperative of the Vale do Ribeira (COOPERQUIVALE) in the state of São Paulo, has been distributing food to vulnerable families in five municipalities. Over 150 tons of produce have been delivered so far!

In the pandemic, eight out of ten favela residents in Brazil are in need of donations to survive. The Quilombo-favela connection has alleviated the impact of #Covid19 in favelas and ensured income generation for Quilombola communities.

“A while back I asked my nephew to take a look in the fridge. Do you know what I had? Water,” says Maria da Conceição Oliveira, a resident of Jardim São Remo, a favela in the West Zone of the city of São Paulo. “Everything they send is welcome. Bless those people who help us”.

Against hunger and #Covid19, hope springs from the earth. With the health crisis at its worst, those with food security in Brazil are indeed privileged. COOPERQUIVALE’s food distribution is a lifeline of health and hope that must not end!

“It’s gratifying, it gives our work importance. When the doors of the truck open, people start smiling: look at the jackfruit, look at the fish, there are bananas,” says Michel Guzanchi, COOPERQUIVALE coordinator.

Read about this story: https://isa.to/3m7b5it 

The photographs used in this thread are all by Manoela Meyer/ISA!

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