"Collectives - united to bring nature back into the urban community"Utopia is there on the horizon. I take two steps closer, it moves two steps away. I walk ten steps and the horizon runs ten steps. No matter how far I walk, I'll never reach it. What is a utopia for? That's what it's for so that I don't stop walking."- Fernando Birri, quoted by Eduardo Galeano in "Las palabras andantes?", by Eduardo Galeano.by Eduardo Galeano, published by Siglo XXI, 1994."
Breaking paradigms begins when change happens within us...
To begin with: is there hope for us human beings?
The 21st century. The millennium has turned the world as we knew it before the pandemic no longer exists. But, after all, what's new here? Hopes of a better post-pandemic world have dissolved in just a few years. We are now living through a global climate emergency. Spring with tornadoes in the Caribbean. Endless floods in the fall on the plains of the pampa biome.
And the dance goes on... The most terrible thing (about the floods, the winds, and the rest) is knowing that these phenomena could happen more often and that we are not prepared. On the other hand, the level of planetary awareness is growing. For us urban dwellers, we often project ideal models of the relationship between man and nature onto other social organizations. These communities, be they caiçaras, indigenous, quilombolas, or others, are seen as living practices of a harmonious relationship between man and nature. What is so different about these social groups?
Far from representing in vivo relics of an ancient world, they offer a real reflection on our relationship with the world. They will certainly actively contribute to the paradigm shift that we, the globalized society, so desperately need.
1. The Good Life
The Good Life philosophy focuses on belonging to nature and a sense of collectivity. Human beings are not on one side and nature on the other; we are an inseparable and interdependent part.
From a Buen Vivir perspective, nature is not an object; it is not a source of resources and raw materials. Nature is not an input, much less a commodity. Nature is a living being. We humans are just a part of nature. If it is part of us, we take care of it. Put into practice, the philosophy of Good Living presupposes greater popular participation in decision-making. So you can see possible ways of reducing poverty, empowering people, and generating well-being. Making collective decisions, by consensus. It's about bringing equality between people. Environmental conservation necessarily involves eliminating poverty. If you don't have the minimum, how can you think about the rest?
2. We all have the right to a balanced environment
The elimination of poverty requires a system of solidarity, collectivity, of thinking together.
The secret of community life lies in understanding interbeing - that man and nature are interdependent. Through community life, we recover this belonging every day. These are stories and knowledge. By understanding that we are nature, we keep the logic of cooperation alive.
This cooperation goes beyond the monetization of social functions in cities. It's just doing what needs to be done. It's as simple as that.
When we do something for the collective well-being, the idea of volunteering is born. Doing something because you like it, because it's important. Doing for the whole.
Volunteering is good for you, for the feeling of fulfillment, of Living Well. Volunteering only makes sense in this way, in terms of solidarity. Volunteering as free work for capitalism is free work.
When a group of volunteers come together around a cause that is valuable to everyone, a collective is born.
3. Where to find collective action?
Breaking paradigms, new perspectives. But what about practice? Where do local actions appear? Let's start on the Brazilian coast - between Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Collectives working in the oceanic region of Niterói are working to preserve and restore the quality of the environments and their inhabitants around the lagoon. Find out about the mission of some of these collectives or NGOs (with contact details):
Rio de Janeiro - Rescuing the dignity of an urban stream - agroforestry
Agroecological practices incorporate a variety of dynamics and ways of relating to, inhabiting, and feeling the natural world. The recovery of the marginal strip of a contributor to the Itaipu lagoon is the start of a process to restore the lagoon's water quality.
The intervention is being carried out using syntropic agriculture, a technique that respects the dynamics of nature itself and works with people, lots of people, planting everything together.
Find out more at @corregodatiririca
Espírito Santo - Caring for the riverside dwellers - dissemination actions based on caring for the river
SAPI - Sociedade Amigos de Itaúnas - is a socio-environmental NGO that works on behalf of the natural landscape, the historical and cultural heritage of the region of Itaúnas, a fishing village on the northern coast of Espírito Santo, and the natural riches of the river basin that flows into the ocean near the village - the Itaúnas River.
In a region with many socio-environmental conflicts, action is needed.
Contact: sapitaunas@gmail.com
Articulating the environment and citizenship - Gambá Bahia Group
Working for over 40 years mainly in the Atlantic Forest area of Bahia, the Gambé group monitors and proposes public policies, promotes environmental education, works to conserve ecosystems, and does socio-environmental business.
Contact: @gambabahia
4. Be the one to sow the new
It's time to think about a society with more joy and mutual respect. Happiness in small things is possible. Research, invent. The time is now. Because together we can make a difference!
5. Suggested reading
Chronicle: What is Good Living? Available at: https://www.thegreenamazon.com/post/o-que-%C3%A9-o-bem-viver-06-12-2024
Article- Collective Córregos Da Tiririca- Restoration of Riparian Forest in a Stream Contributor of Itaipu Lagoon - Niterói- RJ- Brazil. Qeios, IA72E0.2 https://doi.org/10.32388/IA72E0.2 Available at:
https://www.qeios.com/read/IA72E0.2 (original in English)
Article- Coletivo córrego da tiririca (Portuguese version). Available at:
documentary RIO ITAÚNAS SEMPRE VIVO, DA FOZ À NASCENTE. SAPI Organization - Society of Friends for Itaúnas. Available at: https://youtu.be/qCcFomiVmJI
Cheers!
Luisa Maria Sarmento-Soares
Our Streams Institute. Niterói- RJ. sarmento.soares@gmail.com
LinkedIn: @ luisa maria sarmento soares
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