By Sara Leal*
In an interview with Um Grau e Meio, Débora Fiametti, president of COOPERSAF (Cooperativa Solidária da Agricultura Familiar), talks about the role of women in the Rede Sementes Portal da Amazônia, in Mato Grosso.
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How did COOPERSAF come about?
The cooperative was born out of a strategy related to the need for the Seed Network to formalize itself as an enterprise to market forest seeds.
We operate in nine municipalities in the Portal da Amazônia territory in Mato Grosso: Apiacás, Alta Floresta, Carlinda, Colíder, Nova Canaã do Norte, Nova Guarita, Terra Nova do Norte, Peixoto de Azevedo and Novo Mundo.
How does the Seed Network work?
It works as a tool to boost income generation for the communities. It provides technical support to the cooperative members, monitors the work of the groups and provides training, both collectively and individually, on collecting, processing, storing and identifying matrices. It has a collection list of more than 100 species of forest seeds.
Most of the cooperative members are women, with some groups made up of women only. Looking at the gender issue is very important in this process, because it makes women the protagonists in management and collection.
What would explain the greater number of women in the cooperative?
Generally, the man goes out to work and the woman stays on the property doing various jobs. Collecting seeds is an accessible way for her to contribute to the family’s income and have more autonomy.
The gender issue is a new and recent discussion within the cooperative, although the number of women has always been significant. COOPERSAF has been built by a board of women for three years now.
Since then, the discussion on gender has intensified and, with it, the strengthening and participation of women within the training spaces of the Network and the Cooperative.
What role do these women play in seed collection?
Today they are involved in the entire chain, from collection to processing. The Seed Network and the Cooperative don’t just work on the marketing side. There’s also management, social and environmental issues, and these women are involved in all these phases, playing a crucial role, especially in the management of the groups.
We know that we are in an extremely challenging environmental scenario. Collecting seeds is a social, environmental and mobilizing role for these communities. Today, the collector is the guardian of the forest. They are there, every day, collecting and processing these seeds.
*IPAM Communications Coordinator, sara.pereira@ipam.org.br
