Manaus Ágil tourism and culture of AmazonasSupported by the Edital Floresta em Pé, action involves local youth in sustainable income generation activities.
One of the most traditional social projects in Novo Airão - AM, municipality 115 km from Manaus, the Almerinda Malaquias Foundation (FAM) has improved the production process of handicrafts with the support of the Edital Floresta em Pé. A professional training center regionally recognized, the organization is implementing, with the support of the FAS and Amazon Fund / BNDES edict, innovative and sustainable technologies, which in addition to improving manufacturing, should benefit 45 families in the municipality and heat up the local craft production chain.
In operation for more than 20 years, Almerinda Malaquias has as one of its objectives to develop new activities to generate income through handicrafts using residues and also paper to expand the existing market, thus ensuring the income of old and new artisans.
The edict resources available by FAS made it possible to build a solar wood dryer, a structure that should improve the quality of green wood, making it ideal for handicraft work, due to the drying process. The space is the result of a study conducted by the researcher Dr. Roland Vetter and team from the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA).
"The solar dryer will allow us to reach higher levels, because we will improve the process of drying wood while preserving its characteristics to the maximum. In this way, we will be delivering marquetry and handicrafts to the market with greater quality and safety," says Jean-Daniel Valloton, one of the founders of the organization and local project manager.
With the structure, the expectation is to train young people to reuse solid waste generating income and developing the market in Novo Airão, aiming to expand the markets.
"The Edital provides direct support to the Almerinda Malaquias Foundation in, mainly, training young people in legal activities of solid waste reuse that generate income and develop the market of Novo Airão to national levels. FAM is permanently generating income through waste paper, wood, etc., and the Call for Proposals gave us all the means to increase our impact," says Jean.
The Standing Forest Edital, developed by FAS from a selective process with more than 181 registered proposals, seeks to support sustainable productive arrangements developed in the interior of the State. Seventeen initiatives were contemplated, with investments totaling R$ 2.5 million. One of the results of the support is the growing engagement of the organizations and beneficiaries.
"In our technical visits to the selected institutions, community engagement was noticeable. People can already perceive the benefits brought by the Call for Proposals in their communities, and this process and sensitization takes place naturally as the projects reach maturity. Partner institutions are helping with financial and administrative assistance, and developing social technologies so that the projects have a great reach in the communities where they are located," points out Mickela Souza, coordinator of the Edital.
Project selection
The process of selecting proposals had two stages of analysis: one for promising initiatives, to verify if the proposals were consistent with the criteria and scope of the call, and the second, for detailed projects, in which an independent evaluation committee analyzed the clarity of information, budget, and schedule of activities. Currently, the coordination team of the Call for Proposals is providing technical assistance in management to the approved projects in order to collaborate in optimizing the results of the projects, which are in effect for 12 to 18 months.
