Northeastern Brazil Groundwater Project

Social & Gender Program

PROASNE works at the community level through its elaborate social and gender programs. Teams of Brazilian social workers operating through multiple partnerships with input from Canadian specialists, provide education on water and environmental issues (water conservation, preservation of water resources, hygiene, waste disposal, etc.), and deal with numerous other topics that are aimed at reducing poverty and improving the lives in the communities.  These include improving agriculture and beneficiation of agricultural products; income generation projects; enhancing the role of women in water management and decision making on a variety of issues; promoting women’s self esteem and independence, etc.  

The communities have responded by overwhelming participation in project activities and by forming associations to oversee implementation of project recommendations (water users associations, women’s groups, etc.).  Judging from countless testimonies from the population (some reproduced in the local newspapers) and evidence of improved water management and agricultural practices, the project is having considerably more impact on the lives of the population of the pilot communities than was originally anticipated. 

This site contains a representative selection of reports and specialized papers describing PROASNE's social & gender program and its results.  The media, especially the Brazilian press, has been following PROASNE's activities, particularly as they relate to its social and gender agenda.  More than 100 newspaper articles and Web Sites have highlighted PROASNE's actions.