R-Existence and Healing in Brazilian rural community: Weaving solidarity during the pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic left many rural communities at great risk due to the lack of food access, information, and healthcare. Rural communities are suffering from high prices of agroecological materials (seeds, tools and machinery) to grow their food or the inaccessible costs of basic food. This project will work with the community Ylê Asé de Yansã, situated in Araras (Brazil), aiming to (a) address hunger issues by restoring the food-growing community garden, and (b) sharing knowledge with local and global organisations about possible paths to achieve agroecological solutions for food sovereignty. Additionally, growing food and disseminating related knowledge is part of sustainable strategies of healing, i.e., recovering from the trauma of experiencing not only hunger but also racism and land expropriation that rural communities like YAY are facing now in Brazil. In this sense, the project will facilitate the dialogue between local communities, building and strengthening solidarity among them through the exchange of knowledge about autonomous sustenance, agroecology and healing practices.