Territorial Development and Social Transformation in Barão de Cocais

The Territorial Development and Social Transformation project in Barão de Cocais was created to support the communities of Socorro, Piteira, Tabuleiro, and Vila do Gongo, whose residents were evacuated in 2019. It took place in two phases: the first from September 2021 to September 2022 and the second from December 2022 to December 2023.

In phase 1, the goals were to strengthen female entrepreneurship and gender equity through the creative economy; to empower the Community Association of Socorro, Tabuleiro, and Piteira for participatory planning of activities; and to develop a participatory rural planning process. As a result, actions were implemented to inspire and train entrepreneurs, along with the incubation of selected businesses. Additionally, there were collective actions for systemic development and guidance for participatory rural planning. The program included content that emphasized the practical aspects of the actions in the territory, aiming to realize the dreams and opportunities of the residents who chose to participate in this journey. The training and advisory phase facilitated knowledge exchange between the consultants from Raízes and the beneficiaries by providing relevant content. These activities were conducted in a hybrid format, with some sessions being online and others in person.

Given the need for the participants’ progress, and the demand from the female entrepreneurs in the Female Entrepreneurship initiative seeking to consolidate their businesses, phase 2 aimed to continue the work initiated in phase 1; with actions to strengthen female entrepreneurship and the Community Association, and it was conducted entirely in person. This new phase included entrepreneurs who had previously participated in phase 1 of the project, along with 07 new entrepreneurs. Collective training sessions and individual consultations were provided to expand topics related to business structuring, such as entrepreneurial attitudes, business modeling and analysis, financial management, costs and pricing, productivity, and marketing. In addition to actions aimed at strengthening the Community Association and supporting the development and execution of the Arts and Flavors Fair, which featured participation from entrepreneurs who had the opportunity to showcase their products.