case studies undp: association of smallholder agroforestry producers reca project, brazil

7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: ASSOCIATION OF SMALLHOLDER AGROFORESTRY PRODUCERS RECA PROJECT, BRAZIL

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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities

Brazil

ASSOCIATION OFSMALLHOLDERAGROFORESTRY PRODUCERSRECA PROJECT

Empowered live

Resilient nation



UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES

Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo

or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth

their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition

themselves guiding the narrative.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser

that details the work o Equator Prize winners – vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ

to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models

replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to ‘The Power o Local Action: Lessons rom 10 Years

the Equator Prize’, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.

Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiative’s searchable case study database.

EditorsEditor-in-Chie: Joseph Corcoran

Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding

Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe

Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,

Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu

DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa

Brandon Payne, Mariajosé Satizábal G.

AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers, and in particular the guida

and inputs o Eugênio Vacaro. All photo credits courtesy o the Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers. Maps courtesy o

World Factbook and Wikipedia.

Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers RECA Project, Brazil . Equator Initiat

Case Study Series. New York, NY.

http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/events/2012events/Book_Launch/power%2520of%2520local%2520action%2520final%25202013%25208mb.pdf




http://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858



PROJECT SUMMARY This agroorestry project acilitates a variety o initiativesocused on supporting both amily and commercial levelagricultural production. The Association o SmallholderAgroorestry Producers brings together migrant armersand indigenous rubber tappers in the Abuna region o northern Brazil. Since 1989, these two groups have workedtogether to improve the agricultural productivity o theirorest landscape, recognizing the importance o respectingand adapting to the uniqueness o each community’sculture and local knowledge.

With the mission o ending rural emigration anddeorestation, the group’s agship RECA Project (Projeto Reorestamento Econômico Consorciado e Adensad )assists local armers to improve their technical capacity inagroorestry production and value-added processing o local resources, generating sustainable income streams orthese marginalized orest communities.

KEY FACTS

EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2010

FOUNDED: 1989

LOCATION: Abuna region, northern Brazil

BENEFICIARIES: More than 300 farming families

BIODIVERSITY: Recovery of degraded land

3

ASSOCIATION OF SMALLHOLDERAGROFORESTRY PRODUCERS RECA PROJECTBrazil

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background and Context 4

Key Activities and Innovations 6

Biodiversity Impacts 8

Socioeconomic Impacts 8

Policy Impacts 10

Sustainability 11

Replication 12

Partners 12



4

rojecto RECA is the agship programme o a small association o

migrant armers and indigenous rubber-tappers in the Abuna region

northern Brazil. The Association o Smallholder Agroorestry

roducers ( Associação dos Pequenos Agrossilvicultores) ounded the

roject in 1989 with the aim o improving the productivity o small-

cale agriculture in local orest ecosystems.

The Abuna region o northern Brazil

he project has its origins in the district o Nova Caliornia, Porto

Velho, in the north o the Brazilian state o Rondônia. For decades,

his region o Abuna, and much o the north o Brazil, was considered

evoid o economic opportunity and a largely unproductiveandscape. In the 1980s, the National Institute o Agrarian

ettlements (INCRA) encouraged armers rom across the country to

move to Abuna, with oers o land and opportunity. These policies

ttracted landless peasants rom the south o Brazil, who made the

ifcult trek to this economically isolated region with the promise

a new lie. To make space or new settlers, the government also

ursued a policy o deorestation to clear land. Settlers brought with

hem seeds or planting rice, beans, and coee in hopes that these

rops would thrive and provide or sustainable livelihoods. Many o

he migrants had a difcult time adapting to a lack o inrastructure

n the region – no access to electricity, a lack o transportation and

oad access, and insufcient access to basic social services.

Ater providing settlers with access to land, the government oered

ttle by way o capacity development or support. Attempts to grow

rops like cassava and corn were disastrous. Local soils and climate

were unsuitable, resulting in such low agricultural productivity that

armers were orced to clear more orest and plant ever-increasing

reas in the hopes o obtaining income. Clearing trees or crops

enerated heated disputes with the seringueiros , the region’s

ndigenous rubber tappers who relied on the tropical orest or their

velihoods. To make matters worse, the tip o the Abuna region

onstituted an area o dispute between Rondônia and Acre states.

These challenging conditions were ertile grounds or commu

driven collective action, and a number o progressive environm

and social organizations were born o this marginalization.

Founding o the association

A number o settlers approached the seringueiros or guidanc

ways to adapt agricultural production to local climatic condit

and planting cycles. These conversations led to the creation o

Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers, which bro

together a small group o community leaders and smallho

armers with the aim o developing livelihood options based o

orest ecosystem. Initially, a group o armers pooled their resoto purchase 24 cows, two bulls, and eight oxen cart. The g

created a system by which each amily received a cow, and in re

were required to return a cal to the association, which would

go to another amily.

Spurred by this initial success, the association continued to exp

options or improving the productivity o local ecosystems. I

proposals presented to ofcials in both Rondônia and Acre s

were unsuccessul. Undeterred, the association sought support

the Bishop o Acre, who accepted the project and in turn prese

it to the Centre or Statistics and Social Research (CERIS). This b

brought a reormulated proposal to the Dutch organisation CEB

(Roman Catholic Mediation Board or Financing o DevelopmProgrammes), where it was nally accepted in 1989 as the Pr

Reorestamento Econômico Consorciado e Adensado (RECA Pro

roughly translated as “Joint Consortium or Economic Reorestat

Early stages o Projeto RECA

The main thrust o the early stages o the project was to dev

a system o productive orest (through reorestation and o

activities) that would generate income streams or the

population without degrading the land. The possibilities expl

Background and Context



55

y the architects o the project made the inormed choice to exclude

ce, bean and coee crops, which had in the past proved poorly

dapted to the Amazon climate and soil conditions. Instead, the

roup ocused on native and indigenous plants. The rst resources

llocated to the project were committed to replanting 200 hectares

degraded orest with peach palms, Brazil nuts, and cupuaçuzeiro.

he armers did not only concentrate on crops, but also on planting

ative trees species to maintain soil ertility, expand economic

ptions with non-timber orest products, and provide shade romhe sun.

With leadership by the local church, and in partnership the

eringueiros, project ounders mobilized a number o partners to

et the initiative o the ground. Each participating arm amily was

nitially given USD 958 per hectare o land, to a maximum o three

ectares. Over 80 amilies each signed an agreement pledging to

epay’ this nancing in the orm o collectively pooled produce. The

oundation o the project was reciprocity and shared ownership

ased on the collective investment o time and resources. As

roduction increased rom the association’s activities, the group

uickly realized that there was not sufcient demand or the

mount o crops being produced. This led to the construction o an

gri-business centre to store and process the various agricultural

ommodities being harvested.

Value-added processing o orest commodities

n the years since the initiative began, the RECA project has

ustainably managed local orest ecosystems to create income-

enerating opportunities or the local population. With a particular

ocus on peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), cupuaçu (Theobroma

randiorum), and Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), the association

urrently operates three agri-businesses in ruit pulp processing,

each palm processing, and processing o oils rom ruit species. The

association also operates a learning centre or the disseminatio

agro-orestry techniques, including an auditorium that is use

meetings, lectures, courses, and peer-to-peer exchange. A marke

centre is also used as a clearing house or the RECA member c

and products, including honey, liqueurs, jams, jellies, add choco

Operating and administrative costs o the association are prov

or by revenues generated through the sale o processed prod

as well as partnership with national and international organizat

Recognizing a need or regular exchange and ace-to-ace meet

but acing geographical challenges, the association was divided

12 groups. Today, these groups directly serve more than 300 am

o armers, and indirectly more than 500 amilies. Activities ocu

organic agriculture, diversication o livelihoods, and the bree

o small animals (sh, birds, and bees). Its primary stated objec

include:

1. Providing support to amilies in rural areas through mutua

2. Mobilizing small agro-orestry amily groups or s

productive work, mutual support and ellowship

3. Legally and administratively supporting and represe

association members

4. Providing a popular, alternative health care system

5. Providing an education system adapted to rural realities

needs

6. Training members in administration and business managem

7. Undertaking the collective harvest o agro-orestry produc

sale in local, national and international markets

8. Conserving the local environment and biodiversity

9. Classiying, standardizing, storing, processing, manuactu

and registering trademarks or local products

10. Using community radio to broadcast artistic, educational

scientic inormation



6

Key Activities and Innovations

he primary activities o the association are ocused on amily arm

gro-orestry systems, which assist in the recovery o degraded areas,

he reorestation o riparian orests, and the improvement o local

velihoods and incomes through organic arming. The RECA project

oversees activities on over 1,500 hectares o reclaimed land, all in

reas where the orest had been degraded, and all being reclaimed

hrough reorestation with native species o ruit and timber trees. In

ddition to operating a Family Farm School – which oers a month-

ong agro-orestry training course split between the eld and home-

tudy – RECA oers community training courses in organic arming,

nvironmental conservation, and women’s empowerment. The

welve armer groups coordinate the production, processing, storage

nd marketing o all products. A community production acility hasbeen constructed or the preparation o palm hearts, ruit pulp, oil

xtraction, and more. RECA has recently engaged in a certication

process or organic products harvested by local producers.

Community processing enterprises

he three community-based agri-businesses – peach palm

processing, ruit pulp processing, and agriculture storage – source

ll produce directly rom RECA member armers. Peach palm is

arvested rom December to July. Ater the palms are cleaned at the

processing centre, the heads and stems o the palms are separated.

he peach palms are sliced and placed into pots, while the stems

re cut into smaller pieces. The two parts o the peach palm areprocessed urther, then packaged and marketed by RECA in local

nd national markets.

ulp production ocuses on cupuaçu and acai. In the case o cupuaçu,

he pulp is separated rom the seeds, and the ormer packed

nto 1-kilogram and 5-kilogram bags and then rerigerated. Acai

ndergoes a similar processing, being heated in a pan to separate

he pulp rom the seeds beore the pulp is packed into 1-kilogram

nd 5-kilogram bags and then rerigerated. Both cupuaçu and acai

pulp are sold in local and regional markets.

Lastly, RECA extracts and processes the oils o cupuaçu, Brazil

and Andiroba. In the case o cupuaçu, oil is extracted rom the s

o the ruit, which are collected during pulp processing. The s

undergo ermentation or a ull week and are then sun-drie

large barges, a process which can last over two weeks, depen

on weather conditions. The drying process is completed when

seeds are heated in a boiler. A machine not unlike a printing pr

used to separate the oil. The remaining material is used or ert

The oil is then ltered and packed into 45-litre drums. Brazil nut

collected, dried on a roo, and the outer shells removed. The pro

o oil extraction or both Brazil nuts and andiroba is similar to

o cupuaçu. Processed oils are largely sold to cosmetics compan

Organizational structure

RECA maintains twenty ull-time sta, including six agricul

extension ofcers, a marketing ofcer, a secretary, a nancial assis

a driver, and two guards. While most employees are covered u

the association’s budget, some – as in the case o several o



7

gricultural extension ofcers – are covered through partnerships,

many o which are with government agencies. Technical sta and

gricultural outreach workers are trained to speak at ‘Family Farm

chools’, where students spend teen days at the association’s

chool house receiving instruction and a urther teen days at

ome applying acquired knowledge. Each group retains a technical

pecialist who teaches at the school, who also helps to monitor

roductivity and oversee support with manure, composting, pest

ontrol, and value-added secondary processing.

he structure o the organization has adapted to changes in (and

mitations created by) the legal and policy landscapes in which the

ssociation operates. As a registered non-prot organization, the

association was orced to reconcile (or legal purposes) this

prot status with a need to market and sell its products. Accor

to prevailing laws, non-prot organizations were prohibited

engaging in marketing activities. To overcome this problem, R

created the Cooperative Agro-Forestry RECA Project in 2006 w

governed by its own constitution and bylaws, became respon

or the marketing o RECA products. This marked the creation

new organizational model, bringing together a social organiza

with a cooperative. The cooperative arm o RECA now retresponsibilities or marketing and commercialization, with

revenues then transerred back to the Association o Smallho

Agroorestry Producers to be distributed to its members.

“Our region is experiencing climate change. We feel more vulnerable without forest cover an

healthy ecosystems. We can say from experience in reforesting degraded areas that environment

and economic security is improved. Biodiversity has returned to the reforested areas.”

Eugênio Vacaro, Associação dos Pequenos Agrossilvicultores



8

Impacts

BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS

RECA has as one its primary areas o ocus the recovery o degraded

ands. The region where the group now operates was subject to

evere deorestation and orest degradation. Commercial logging,

and conversion or livestock and agriculture, and slash-and-burn

arming all put unsustainable pressure on the region’s orests and

biodiversity. RECA has worked through a community-based model

o sustainable agro-orestry to reclaim degraded land and to provide

n alternative to intensive and unsustainable land management or

extractive industries such as mining and logging. The association

has successully ostered a conservation ethic among local armers,

who now view the orests and local ecosystems as ragile naturalssets that require protection and renewal.

Eects o reorestation

Degraded lands have been restored largely through reorestation

using native ruit tree species. Family arm plots and local armers

have been the vehicles or tree planting and sustainable extraction

ctivities. The association emphasizes the need or a stable

environment with healthy and unctioning ecosystems or lands to

be productive. Particular emphasis has been given to the recovery

nd restoration o riparian buer zones – watersheds, springs and

ponds. The RECA production model o sustainable agro-orestry

ystems has proved to be a powerul tool to reduce deorestationnd orest degradation. Illegal shing, poaching and logging have

ll been reduced in the region.

Environmental responsibility and sustainable land management

principles are built in to amily arm land use plans. To become

nd remain a contributing member o RECA, armers must meet

minimum environmental requirements concerning the adoption o

ustainable production techniques and conservation activities. RECA

works with individual members to conduct participatory and tailored

and use plans and environmental assessments. The association has

mapped and photographed all amily arms (over 150) as a means o

establishing those regions most in need o restoration. Over 640

seedlings – bacaba, acai, rubber, andiroba, amulet, dragon’s b

chestnuts, cupuaçu and peach palms – have been planted sinc

beginning o the initiative.

Environmental education

RECA has also set up an environmental education program

raise awareness on existing and uture threats to local o

and ecosystems, as well as viable livelihood options and

management techniques that can both conserve and restore

environment. RECA conducts ongoing lectures on environm

conservation and sustainable livelihoods, and complementsactivity with classroom- and eld-based training or local stud

Trainings ocus on reorestation and agro-orestry techniques,

special emphasis on riparian ecosystems and the use o n

tree species. Students receive instruction in orest managem

the value o standing orests in soil conservation and ecosy

service provision, and the importance o native seed specie

local biodiversity. Students (including local school children

oered hands-on training in reorestation work and encour

to contribute to tree planting eorts. Courses are oere

environmental management, environmental law, and org

produce and certication.

SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS

The main target beneciaries o the RECA project were and re

immigrants rom neighboring states in Brazil, who came to the re

in search o economic prosperity. When many o these immig

came to settle in the region, however, they ound themselves iso

and marginalized, with little to no access to basic social services

livelihood options, and even ewer sustainable livelihood opt

The region was also plagued by disease burden, with high incid

o both malaria and leishmaniasis. It also did not take long be

the migrants realized that native tree species (or ruit and tim



were more productive and produced more seeds than those crops

brought rom other regions – namely, beans, rice and rubber.

Realizing economic benefts rom value-added processing

Since 1989, RECA has grown rom 86 amilies to over 300 amilies o

mall agro-orestry producers who arm some 1,800 hectares. This

association model has allowed members to generate incomes more

han 30% higher than those o local armers who sell unprocessedcommodities. Each arm is supported to integrate native ruit and

imber trees into their production landscapes. Fruit is harvested

by local producers and then sold to RECA, where it is taken to

processing centres to make palm, pulp and oil products. Dierent

producers earn dierent amounts. This varies depending on the

particulars o each arm, including distance rom RECA processing

centres, the property soil type, individual production choices, and

he organization o the producer group to which the arm belongs.

Prior to the ormation o these local producer groups, amilies

were operating on their own and in isolation. RECA has provided

a platorm or the collective articulation o a community-driven

agro-orestry model that works or people and the environment.

n addition to providing a collective bargaining outlet, RECA has

provided a platorm on which armers have been able to attract and

build partnerships that bring value and added capacity to their work.

The economic success o RECA has also put a previously isolated

and marginalized region and population on the map, lending both

political visibility and legitimacy.

RECA operates agri-businesses that process, market and sell

peach palms, ruit pulp, and ruit oil. And the outputs rom these

businesses are substantial. In one season alone, RECA processed one

million pounds o ruit, producing 350,000 pounds o cupuaçu pulp,

00,000 pounds o dried and ermented cupuaçu, more than 40,000pounds o cupuaçu butter, 20,000 cans o Brazil nuts, 8,000 pounds

o Brazil nut oil, over 70,000 pounds o peach palm, and 100,000

pounds o acai. The association is expanding into the production

and marketing o locally produced honeys, liqeurs, jellies, jams and

oaps.

Spillover eects and livelihoods diversifcation

t is not an overstatement to say that RECA has transormed the

ocal economy. In the 2007-2009 project cycle alone, RECA shared

more than USD 1,000,000 in revenues with local producer groups. In

addition to improved incomes through the supply-chain that now

inks local ruit producers with processing and marketing services, apercentage o revenues rom RECA products have been reinvested

nto other small business enterprises, including pharmacies, bakeries

and a number o dierent stores. Producer amilies have been able

o make improvements to their homes, with many upgrading

rom pachiuba straw to brick. So too, a percentage o revenues are

allocated to reorestation eorts, ensuring both environmental and

economic security and sustainability. The planting o native ruit

and timber trees has had spillover benets or other crops (such as

coee) and livestock cultivation. Restored lands with healthy and

biologically diverse ecosystems make or more productive crops

9



nd healthier livestock. Similarly, diversied production methods

nd a shit to organic agriculture have resulted in greater ood

ecurity at the household and arm levels. RECA has promoted crop

iversication, providing a broader income base or local producers,

nd now works with over 20 dierent types o ruit and timber trees,

s well as a number o medicinal plants, including bacaba, andiroba,

opal, dragon’s blood, rambutan, and more.

o too, over 40 amilies have been supported to work in apiculturebeekeeping), with RECA providing assistance in the production,

ottling and marketing o honey and ensuring certication

rocesses meet existing regulatory requirements. A urther 10

amilies have been supported to create chicken arms, supplying a

ocal market that until recently was entirely dependent on imported

hicken and eggs. Beyond the local producers directly linked into

he RECA supply-chain, the association hires many day labourers or

emporary labour (oten between six and seven months) during the

arvests.

ECA has also supported a number o members in the process o

orest certication. More than 30 licenses or organic agriculture

ave been awarded to community arms, and several more amilies

re going through the certication process. This has been acilitated

hrough a number o partners, including a company, Natura, which

manuactures cosmetics rom natural products and uses white cacao

utter or creams and soap. This air trade company supports RECA

with unding or orest certication and requisite training courses.

Collaborative learning and social equity

Within the cooperative model, success has bred success, with

roducer groups also serving as a platorm or technology transer

nd other improvements. A good example o this phenomenon is

ractors. Those armers who have made signicant prots and whoave larger tracts o land have been able to purchase new tractors.

t has become standard practice to then pass on old tractors to

hose armers within the producer group who may not have had

he means o purchasing such equipment. While anecdotal, this

ranser is indicative o the eect RECA’s mobilization eorts have

ad on community sensibility. RECA’s participatory approach

o management, organization and decision-making – and the

rocess o meeting in groups to identiy common problems as well

s potential solutions – has become part o local culture, and has

edened the meaning o local citizenship and mutual responsibility.

Concerted eorts have also been made by the association to ully

nd equitably integrate women and youth into project activities.Workshops and training courses in agro-orestry, which are oered

hrough the Family Farm School, have been provided rst and

oremost to the children o RECA members. This has helped to

nsure cross-generational understanding o RECA objectives and a

hared commitment to sustainability principles. On the premises,

he school has a demonstration garden, an aviary or chicken-raising,

nd a plant nursery. These activities increase ood security or the

chool and generate income rom selling surplus produce. Women’s

mpowerment has evolved organically within the organization,

ased on demand rom local women or representation in decision-

making processes. As a result, each producer group has an ele

representative who is specically responsible or receiving

voicing the concerns and needs o emale armers.

POLICY IMPACTS

The region in which RECA now operates is not only econom

marginalized, but has historically lacked basic inrastructure (ro

district and municipal government ofces, etc.) and social ser(health care, hospitals, and schools) due to its geographic dist

rom major centres; the Abuna region is 360 kilometers rom

municipal centre o Porto Velho, Rondônia, and 150 kilometers

Rio Branco, in Acre state. As the main regional employer du

the harvest season, RECA has lled many o these inrastruc

and social service gaps that have been let by the governme

now provides health care and education services and has been

source o the majority o investments into local inrastructure

such, RECA has become a valued partner o several governm

departments in crating public policies in the region.

It now serves as a veritable policy delivery bridge between

government and local citizens. This inherited role o service pro

and policy conduit has positioned RECA well to advocate

environmental licenses, land tenure reorm and organic certicat

10



11

Sustainability and Replication

SUSTAINABILITYOne o the key ingredients to RECA’s model o sustainability is the

articipatory model o governance that guides the organization’s

ecisions. Groups o amily armers not only participate in, but lead

he management and ull implementation o the project.

Organizational sustainability

While the association has undergone a number o changes in its

overnance structure since it began in 1989, some key aspects

ave remained the same. The association was and remains highly

articipatory in its management. Decisions are taken in consultationwith participating community members. Producers are actively

ncouraged to participate in meetings and to voice their concerns

nd preerences. Groups are typically composed o small numbers o

eighbouring households. Group members meet on a monthly basis

o exchange ideas, take stock o production and project activities,

nd to discuss the needs, demands and challenges o each producer.

articipation in monthly meetings is, in act, mandatory, with any

roducer missing three consecutive meetings ejected rom the

roup. Incidence o the latter is ew and ar between.

o acilitate eective management and decision-making, each group

lects a coordinator, a leader and a women’s representative. The

oordinator has the role o liaison between individual groups andECA as a whole, and represents the group at larger coordination

meetings. The leader is responsible or promoting the integration o

member activities, a role ocused squarely on the individual group.

Lastly, the women’s representative is a position that has eme

based on demand rom emale producers or representation

empowerment, and holds responsibility or uniting emale mem

and encouraging their participation in meetings. Taken togethe

coordinators o each group make up the RECA board, o which

are elected to hold the positions o president (a term o two y

and vice president. The president does not coordinate deci

making, but rather is responsible or conducting discussions am

the coordinators to ensure decisions are taken in a air and equi

manner that is consistent with member demands and needs.

As stipulated in the organization’s by-laws, RECA meetings

held biannually. The rst meeting o the year is the ‘representassembly’, attended only by individual coordinators. The se

meeting is a ‘general assembly’ which is open to all members. It i

uncommon or meetings o the coordinators, leaders and wom

representatives rom each group to be held monthly. Produc

marketing, outputs, proposed projects, and potential partners

are discussed at these meetings, which also serve as a orum w

the demands o each group can be discussed within the conte

the larger organization.

Through the association, armers are able to gain acces

training in property management, organic agriculture, net

development, dairy arming, environmental management,

arming, and beekeeping. The association’s oundational princo environmental responsibility and sustainable livelihoods

promoted through the Family Farm School, where the childre

armers receive training in entrepreneurship and agro-orestry

“Our advice to other communities is that there is still time to make a difference. What is

required is dedication.”

Eugênio Vacaro, Associação dos Pequenos Agrossilvicultores



1212

hrough which the conservation ethic that sustains the organization

transmitted to the next generation. RECA has become an important

art o the social abric in the region, and receives a high level o

nvestment rom the local population because this population

eceives a great deal in return.

n 2008, RECA undertook a strategic planning exercise to chart a plan

or the next ten years. Through the ull participation and input o all

members, RECA was able to drat a business plan, a managementlan, and a roadmap or the modernization o harvesting and

rocessing equipment.

REPLICATION

he RECA model has proved to be in high demand. The association

stimates that it receives over 1,500 visitors every year – armers,

ndigenous people, teachers, students, agricultural extension

fcers, government ofcials (including rom the Ministry o

griculture), and researchers – who are interested in learning rom

he association’s experience. Knowledge exchanges are hosted

hrough a training centre, as well as the Family Farm School.

epresentatives o RECA have also traveled to a number o regions

Brazil to share their experience with other communities. Owing

o these knowledge exchanges and site visits, the RECA model has

een successully replicated and is being applied across Brazil, as

well as in several communities in Bolivia and Angola. Every year, the

ssociation holds a estival which serves as a reunion or all armer

members, both past and present.

he association believes strongly in the organizational model and

he agro-orestry approach which has positively transormed their

ocal economy and environment. They do not, however, believe in a

ne-size-ts-all approach, and are quick to communicate to visiting

armers and communities looking to learn rom their experiencehat a commitment to tailoring appropriate solutions to the needs

nd demands o each particular community (and individual arm, or

hat matter) is absolutely essential.

PARTNERS

artnership has been essential or RECA since its beginning. As a

rst phase o its work, RECA developed 200 hectares o land to test

s agro-orestry practices and techniques. The Catholic Committee

gainst Hunger or Development in the World supported with

onstruction o the rst processing unit or pulps. The Government

Germany (GTZ) and the Pastoral Land Commission provided

dvisory support, while the Bank o Brazil provided nancing.

esearch partnerships have been orged on several dierent

ccasions, such as with the National Institute o Amazon Research

NPA), who worked with RECA to develop research into eective

gro-orestry training courses; the Acre branch o the Brazilian

gricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa

gropecuária – Embrapa) who worked with the association on

est control or cupuassu crops and research on soil restoration;

he Agroorestry Research and Extension Group o Acre (PESACRE)

who developed research on an eective structure and curriculum

design or the Family Farm School, as well as marketing and ma

research; and many other partners who contributed na

support, volunteers, and assistance with construction o the R

marketing centre.

As previously mentioned, the tip o the Abuna region was an

under dispute, which hindered policy delivery and investment

the two state governments. Despite the territorial dispute, and

resulting gaps in coverage by state services and inrastructureederal government has supported RECA through bodies suc

Embrapa, the Company or Technical Assistance and Rural Exten

(EMATER), and the Ministry o Agragian Development. Partne

has taken the orm o technical guidance, advice, training, cou

and workshops. The ederal government has also been suppo

in the area o technical support, providing some RECA armers

tractors and machinery.

Other partnerships have included Commissão Pastoral da T

through the local catholic church, or nancial support

linkages with international donor agencies; SEBRAE-Rondô

which has assisted with marketing support; Petrobas, or pro

implementation and the recovery o degraded areas; IMAFLORA

agricultural certication; the Association or Participatory Pa

Certication, or organic produce certication; SENAR, or cap

building training; and Natura, whose benet-sharing model

ensured that armers receive a air price or commodities.



Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:

FURTHER REFERENCE

Association o Smallholder Agroorestry Producers Photo Story (Vimeo) http://vimeo.com/15960875

Condack de Oliveira, H. Joint Consortium or Economic Reorestation (Reorestamento Econômico Consorciado e Adensado, RECA),

zil , in Rey de Marulanda, N. and Tancredi, F. B. 2010 From social innovation to public policy: Success stories in Latin America and th

ribbean. United Nations Economic Commission or Latin América and the Caribbean (ECLAC) pp. 54-7. http://www.cepal.org/

innovacionsocial/e/proyectos/br/reca/RECA.pd

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http://vimeo.com/15960875


http://www.cepal.org/dds/innovacionsocial/e/proyectos/br/reca/RECA.pdf



http://www.cepal.org/publicaciones/xml/3/41593/social-innovation-public-policy-2010.pdf






http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161099.pdf











case studies undp: association of smallholder agroforestry producers reca project, brazil

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