Brazilian Sertão

The Brazilian Sertão is one of the poorest regions of the world. Its social indicators in rural areas are comparable to those of sub-Saharan Africa. Millions of families face the challenges brought about by the drought and the lack of social services and economic infrastructure.

Young people are the ones who suffer the most. Schools are without adequate conditions, there is lack of professional qualification and obtaining a university degree is doomed impossible for many.

In the Brazilian Sertão, the climate is semiarid, characterized by long periods without rain and water shortages. In some regions, the scenery is desert. The lack of drinking water is a huge challenge. This water scarcity makes agriculture and livestock activities less productive. This means reduction of work, low income and little food. The population in the Brazilian Sertão is mostly rural. Most people live in remote and isolated communities, in houses made of mud, without sanitation systems.

The main economic activity is family farming. But the main source of income comes from the government, which in periods of drought is the only source of food for millions of families.

Problems such as alcoholism, domestic violence and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents are common. There are few opportunities. Most children, adolescents and young people have no access to basic knowledge, information and cultural facilities. And those who migrate to big cities send news of great difficulty in getting a job and a decent place to live.

Conversely, the day-to-day lives of these Brazilian families show that some of these people have, in many practical ways, found solutions for their greatest challenges. In fact, it is in the Brazilian Sertão, that a generation of social entrepreneurs is booming, as it is rarely seen in Brazil.

These entrepreneurs know the reality in which they live and also how to take advantage of their craft, limited resources and community strengths. They are economic entrepreneurs, who create new business models and innovative products, and social entrepreneurs, with creative solutions to old problems.

These solutions show that the social and economic development of the Brazilian Sertão is viable and can be achieved with low cost and high impact social investment.

There are many practical and effective solutions spread throughout the region. These programs are meeting some of the most urgent social demands of these communities. Get to know some solutions.