CURRENT PARTNER
Since 2015
ARQDVC
Carrazedo, Brazil
ARQDVC (Associação de Quilombolas Descendentes de Valentes Carrazedo) is a community association formed in Carrazedo, a small and remote riverside quilombola community in the lower Amazon region of Northern Brazil. Quilombola people are descendants of self-liberated African slaves, and the community has faced longstanding isolation, discrimination, and neglect by the government. The majority of people in Carrazedo, about 350, live in two main villas connected by a wooden boardwalk. These villas serve as the community center (church, school, health post, pavilions). Residents are primarily subsistence-based hunters, fishers, river merchants, and farmers who also practice forest extraction (such as acai), small animal husbandry. ARQDVC was formalized in 2018, marking a significant step toward self-development and collective governance for the community.
Project Overview
Since our partnership began in 2015, Minga and ARQDVC have worked through several projects together. First, by engaging the community, Carrazedo was able to finally build a successful well and water distribution system, providing clean drinking water to their population. They also established an acai grove to increase local food production, and expanded the water system to reach several manioc processing huts – allowing them to process harvested manioc into farinha flour locally, a staple for their community.
Minga also worked with ARQDVC to secure an additional $40,000 of funding from the InterAmerican Foundation for acai maintenance, agro-ecology programs, and to build a community center.