While in Suruacá in July I met with most of the cCLEAR participants. This is the first time I’ve been back here since launching cCLEAR two years ago. I noticed a lot of changes.
About 10 new families have moved here, bringing the total to about 115. To move to the community, either the husband or wife must have family here. Because Suruacá has more infrastructure and opportunities than most communities, many newly married families have selected to move here. As opportunities in Suruacá improve, a few families have even moved back from the cities of Santarem or Manaus – reverse migration from what’s happening in much of the region.

Another change I noticed was how many more people had cellphones and TVs, especially considering there isn’t regular electricity in the community. A few years ago, only a few people had phones, now many of the youth, in particular, carry them around and use them mostly as a personal music player. Plus, they double as a flashlight in the dark. One of the cellphone carriers, Vivo, is even considering building a cell tower in the community, which will also serve passing boats.

Speaking of boats, the community is now served by three boats, compared to just two on my last visit. Two of the boats are considerably bigger. Two are community owned and one is private. One of the community boats is used primarily as a backup and to travel to other communities. The two larger boats primarily travel twice a week between Suruacá and the City of Santarem, about 6 hours away. They are the only means of transportation in and out of the community.

We were treated last weekend to a big soccer invitational, with many teams from the region, followed by a huge party. Four bands came in from Santarem to play and music raged on until dawn. The cost of putting this on must have been staggering for such a poor community. But they manage to hold a soccer invitational a couple of times a year, as well as several other large festivals. They are financed in large part by patronization from companies, government agencies and politicians in the region. Sometimes it’s a little hard for us from the US to understand how much the culture of doing “favors” is still really active in the region. This culture reinforces the cycle of dependency, which is very hard to break.

There’s no question there’s been a lot of progress in the communities over the last couple of years. In my next blog, I’ll tell more about how the participants in our program have fared since the pilot ended.

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By Elizabeth Thelen

Despite what may seem like insurmountable obstacles in her life, Regina Souza is a highly successful participant in the cCLEAR program. Through persistence, hard work, and most importantly, enthusiasm, she has made steady progress in setting up a sewing business.

Dona Regina  (the term Dona is a title of respect in Portuguese) has faced many challenges in her life. Unable to complete school past the fifth grade),  Dona Regina has worked as a domestic laborer, a farmer, and currently produces farinha flour with her husband. Twenty-five years old, she lives in unfurnished house recently provided by the government with her husband and three young children. Although Dona Regina seems shy and timid when you first meet her, her true courage is revealed in her determination to start her own business and improve her economic standing.

Dona Regina had dreamt of establishing her own crocheting and embroidery business and joined CEN's cCLEAR program to make this dream a reality. Eventually, she hopes to earn 500 Reais a month (about US$250), which is more than triple her current earnings. Getting started was the largest challenge that Dona Regina faced; when CEN started working with her in September last year, she had no sewing, knitting or embroidery experience, nor did she have the money to purchase basic supplies. Although CEN generally refrains from providing supplies to cCLEAR participants, an exception was made for Dona Regina and she received crochet and embroidery needles, some thread, and magazines on how to crochet.

“I love selling my products in the and enjoy the independence of earning my own money” Regina Souza

A month later, Regina had taught herself to crochet and had started to make several sewing and needlework projects that she could sell. She had used ideas from the magazines and had also sought out the help and advice from seamstresses in the community. Regina made clear goals for herself and had selected to start by making small projects that were also readily marketable.

Since last fall, Regina has continued to make impressive progress toward establishing an independent sewing and needlework business. Regina is innovative in her product design and has a good sense of local market demands. Through her participation in cCLEAR, she has learned to keep accurate records of her earnings and expenses and how to price her products appropriately. She has also developed a new mindset that she can solve problems for herself, and the skills to do so. Currently, she is working with other cCLEAR participants to build a market stand that they can use to sell their products in other towns. When asked recently what she likes best about her participation in cCLEAR, Regina said she loves selling her products in the markets and enjoys the independence of earning her own money.

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The Women’s Group of Suruacá, Brazil
by Alicia Craven

In her 70 years of life, Dona Martinha, a matriarch in the small Brazilian village of Suruacá, has had time to come to her own conclusions about development strategies in her community.

“We are the guinea pigs,” she says in Portuguese with a weary, good-natured sigh. “In reality, everything that we have here is through projects—the kitchen, our house for women—all resulted from projects.”

CEN is working to change this entrenched dependent, paternalistic approach to development. Doña Martinha and her Suruacá Women’s Group are partners in shaping this change.

Suruacá is a small community of about 100 families on the banks of the Tapajós River in northeastern Brazil. It is accessible to the nearest city of Santarém by twice-weekly, six-hour boat journeys. Change comes slowly. Life requires patience.

Projecto Saude e Alegria (PSA), a Brazilian NGO and development organization, first began working with this isolated community in 1987. In addition to health programs and basic infrastructure projects such as installing clean drinking water systems, PSA also helped set up the Women’s Group.

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by Nicholas Tichy

Community development in areas such as the Brazilian Amazon does not happen overnight. There are many problems that restrict the economic growth of these communities, and they are not easily overcome. Instead, development and empowerment happens bit by bit and is measured by small victories. One such victory is the story of Magarete Lima’s bakery business.

The business began a number of years ago as a very small stand, and experienced a hiatus for a period of three years. However, it would return due to the most fundamental element for any business - demand. Residents of the community of Suruacá, a small community of 100 families, about 5 hours by boat from the nearest city, missed smelling the scent of fresh bread drift from the bakery.  Since bread from the nearest city is often stale by the time it makes its infrequent journey to Suruacá, many residents kept asking about the bakery and finally Magarete reopened it.

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New Business Off the Top of Their Heads
An Interview with Ronilson Valente Melo
Young Entrepreneur in Suruacá, Pará State, Brazil

By Nicholas Tichy

Development and empowerment in rural communities such as Suruacá requires a number of elements. One essential skill that needs to be promoted is entrepreneurship. Inroads have been made in helping the community develop business opportunities for themselves, but many obstacles still remain. However, one youth in Suruacá, Ronilson Valente Melo, is an excellent example of the spirit of empowerment and drive that CEN attempts to foster. Recently, CEN's founder and Director Bob Bortner had the opportunity to speak with this young man and find out a bit more about his experiences attempting to create his own business.

Ronilson, 23 years old, grew up in Suruacá with his five brothers and five sisters. Like so many other youths in Suruacá and elsewhere, there were few opportunities in the community. "I finished basic school, but they didn't have high school," says Ronilson. "I had to leave home to study in Santarém," the nearest large town. Though he spent three years living in Santarém, there was much about the place that made him long to return home. "Here [in Suruacá], we are able to walk around without fear. But in town, we had to be at home earlier, because if you don't it gets dangerous."

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