Young Brazilians in traditional communities become “forest reporters”
Hailing from the remote community of Três Unidos, a five-hour boat journey from Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, 19-year-old Tainara Cruz, a Kambeba indigenous student, presents herself as a communicator and environmental activist. She has over 20,000 followers on Instagram.
In one of her posts, she observes, "While the media often discusses climate change, what's often overlooked are the consequences it inflicts upon us—the indigenous peoples—bearing the brunt of escalating average temperatures."
Since 2021, this young student has delved into a wide array of topics, from climate change and the time frame for demarcating indigenous lands to historical narratives of the villages and the intricacies of agriculture and the transformation of the Amazon landscape due to a persistent drought. Her journey of self-discovery and passion for expression was ignited when she participated in a workshop organized by "Reporters of the Forest," an initiative led by the non-profit civil society organization, the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS). Her enthusiasm for storytelling has been so profound that she has already set her sights on a future in higher education, aspiring to become a journalist.
Cruz currently divides her time between her studies and a job as a secretary in Manaus. However, she has discovered her life's mission: "I want to mobilize indigenous peoples to solve the problems that affect us." Among these concerns, the ongoing drought in the Amazon troubles her. The drought has led to wildfires, the drying of the Cuieiras River, and delayed growth of vital crops like cassava and pineapple, staples of her village.
Even the beloved local dish—fani—is challenging to prepare due to the scarcity of cassava and pirarucu fish.
The project
“Reporters of the Forest" was conceived with the goal of empowering young people from traditional communities, as explained by 54-year-old Valcleia Solidade, FAS's sustainable development superintendent. “The initiative aims to engage these youth in different activities and to portray the reality of the community in their daily lives,” she explained. Since its beginning in 2014, the project has trained more than 300 participants.
In its current edition, slated to conclude by the end of 2023, "Reporters of the Forest" plans to include at least 120 students from over 20 communities situated in the Rio Negro, Uatumã, Uacari, Juma, and Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserves (RDS).
The program combines theoretical modules, where participants learn photography, video production, audio recording, lighting, and editing techniques, with practical fieldwork. These young reporters create podcasts and conduct interviews with individuals from their communities, capturing the essence of their daily lives.
Valcleia Solidade's own background, hailing from the Mururu quilombola community in Santarém, Pará state, resonates with the project's mission. She recalls leaving her community at the age of 12 due to the absence of educational opportunities, eventually working as a nanny in the city.
She managed to study and transformed her life's trajectory. She now dedicates herself to supporting riverside communities. In her view, the primary challenges faced by these communities are logistics (heavily reliant on rivers for transportation), access to energy, and communication. “Even today, these communities struggle to receive and transmit information,” she says. Nevertheless, the "Reporters of the Forest" initiative is working to bridge this gap, with nine centers in the state of Amazonas equipped with internet connectivity for project participants.
