The community kitchen project of the ‘Food for Good Living’ project has already started! We are very happy with the evolution of this project, which will make it possible to prepare healthy food for residents and visitors to the indigenous land. The project guarantees the group’s autonomy for the development of events and social actions, enabling its members to act as knowledge multipliers.

Author: Ana Paula Cipriano & Sílvia Lomba
Leia em português.

We are happy to announce the project ‘Food for Good Living’, designed by members of the Indigenous territory Caramuru Catarina Paraguaçu, Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe people. The project has been approved and is already going very well! This new partnership with Meli, as a part of the Pollinating Regeneration program, has great potential for valuing the local culture and diversity. In addition, working with the community and the Okara Kaapora association has been a very enriching process. Come to know more about the project! 
 
The central activity of the project is to build a community kitchen in the territory, to strengthen the local agroforestry system, allow cooking healthy food for members of the group and visitors. The project will strengthen the community and potentialize the dissemination of environmental and social knowledge of the Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe indigenous people. Therefore, the project ‘Food for good living’ ensures the group autonomy to organize events and social actions, enabling its members to act as knowledge multipliers. 

The activities for building the community kitchen have already started in the indigenous territory. The location was chosen, and most of the materials were bought. At this moment, the community is organizing the hiring of some essential services and voluntary efforts to make the kitchen a reality.

The connection between Meli and the community leader Olinda Tupinambá, resident of the Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe territory, was what allowed for the project to be developed. Since the inicial steps, such as ideation, Olinda demonstrated the community’s interest in the construction of a community kitchen, because organizing events in the indigenous territory is a challenge due to the lack of structure. Working with Olinda was an amazing experience, since she is an excellent leader and a great communicator. Through our bridge with Olinda, the necessities of the community are always transmitted in the best manner, and the ideas and activities are, from the beginning, connected with our socio-environmental ideals. 

Also, Olinda has shown herself to be very interested in the interaction with the other communities of the program, always being part of the meetings of the Meli Network. “The Pollinating project allowed me to get to know the reality of several traditional communities and their struggles to keep their rights guaranteed. We talk and discuss these problems, but above all we develop strategies to change these realities. Through the group, we were able to strengthen ourselves and imagine other possible futures. It is a space to talk about our perspectives for the future of our communities, the importance of working together, preserving the biomes, and the cultural appreciation of our country” – Olinda Tupinambá – cited in the report about the structuring step.

We are eager to accompany the evolution of the project, which is expected to be ready to work within three months. 

It is projects such as ‘Food for Good Living’ that move Meli and ensure the maintenance of the way of life and wisdom of traditional people, maintaining the connection between people and the environment. We are very happy that this plan is getting off the ground and we look forward to the next steps. 

To learn more about ‘Food for Good Living’, and other ideas of the Pollinating Regeneration program that we will publicize soon, continue to accompany our work in here!