X EnconASA for socio-environmental justice and participatory democracy!

By Mônica Silva, young agroecology multiplier

From November 18 to 22, the X EnconASA, the National Meeting of the Brazilian Semi-Arid Articulation, took place in the cities of Piranhas (AL) and Canindé de São Franscisco (SE).

The event began on Monday (18) with the arrival of delegations and self-organized plenary sessions on the struggle of women, communication, LGBTQIAP+, youth and the elderly. The afternoon was marked by a mystical opening, greeting the River San Francisco and all those present. The territory was presented by a group of northeastern roots, officially formalizing, along with the opening table, the start of this great event!

The following day, the participants set off for the peasant experiences. A total of 20 experiences were visited. These included the Fishermen’s and Craftsmen’s Association, the Association of Women Craftsmen and Quilombolas, from the Serra das Viúvas Quilombo.

Thematic workshops animated Wednesday morning (20). Several important experiences for living in the semi-arid region were discussed, including climate change and combating desertification, agrobiodiversity and Creole seeds, productive backyards and various other topics. The afternoon continued with a plenary session to launch new programs, such as rural sanitation and solar energy. This was followed by the plenary session “Semi-Arid Land: Building a global alliance in defense of territories”. We ended the day with the knowledge and flavors fair and the peasant innovation yard.

On Thursday (21), the event began with the context analysis plenary “Sharing knowledge by experimenting farmers”, and ended with the reading of EnconASA’s political charter, reaffirming the network’s commitment to socio-environmental justice and democracy.

We ended these enriching days with a public event in Canindé de São Francisco (SE).