Banco do Brasil Foundation

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Water
Agroecology
Agroindustry
Education
Solid Waste

Water

Water is an essential condition for life. Brazil concentrates 12% of the available fresh water in the world and receives regular rainfall in 90% of its territory during the year. Despite this favorable condition, access to water is still insufficient to meet the needs of its population. In the Amazon, where there is a great supply of water resources, part of the communities still do not have potable water for the consumption and improvement of production. In the Brazilian semi-arid region, the rains’ irregularity makes the problem more alarming. During the year, there are periods of drought that last up to seven to eight months, which causes the resident population to suffer from severe economic and social conditions.

It is based on these indicators of water insecurity that the Water theme has been an important axis in the work of Banco do Brasil Foundation. An important action that has had impact and social transformation was the reapplication of Cisterns of Plates and Cisterns of Production social Technologies, certified in 2001,. Through a partnership established with BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), the Association of the One Million Cisterns Programme and with organizations from the third sector, it was possible to do a wide mobilization action of vulnerable communities to capture rainwater, resulting in the achievement of autonomy and coexistence with drought.

Water for drinking - beneficiaries
Water for Production - beneficiaries
Production Water - Contract

Agroecology

Organic agriculture is increasingly recognized as a model capable of responding to the challenges of producing healthy food and promoting food sovereignty, at the same time respecting the culture of families living in these productive systems and conserving natural resources.

By mobilizing communities to preserve their biomes by multiplying sustainable management alternatives, it is possible to diversify production and to create new opportunities for income generation in rural areas. Such initiatives contribute not only to the production of various foods and without the use of agrochemicals, but also to the expansion of marketing and the permanence of man in the land.

Banco do Brasil Foundation has extensive experience in reapplying social technologies and in stimulating agro ecological practices with family farmers and traditional communities. It is one of the partners of the Ecoforte Program , which is part of the National Plan for Agroecology and Organic Production (Planapo) and aims to strengthen and expand the networks, cooperatives and socio-productive and economic organizations of agroecology, extraction and organic production.

The following are partners of the Ecoforte Programme: BNDES, the Federal Government, the National Supply Company (Conab) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).

Amazon Fund

Agroindustry

Agro-industrialization is one of the economic alternatives for the permanence of family farmers in rural areas. It is based on farmers’ organization in cooperatives and associations, in order to strengthen production, raw material processing and marketing. Thus, value is added to the products while developing a production model based on the principles of solidarity economy, with sustainable development, environmental care and respect for local cultures.

Banco do Brasil Foundation works with family farmers, traditional communities, indigenous people and quilombolas in strengthening of productive chains, especially in beekeeping, cashew and manioc culture. The cooperatives and associations of the productive chains supported are self-managed and foster the formation of networks of joint ventures always seeking the sustainability of their activities. These experiences led BB Foundation to contributing in developing the Agroindustrialization Programme in Land Reform Settlements named Terra Forte.

Terra Forte is implemented at the same time that is striving for advances in land access policy, recognizing that socio-productive inclusion and the economic sustainability of settlements are necessary. Terra Forte's resources include support for the diversification of production, infrastructure, professional training, technical assistance and marketing.

The union of strategic partners and the dialogue with entities representing the social movements of the countryside were fundamental for developing the Programme. The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), the Federal Government, the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), the National Supply Company (Conab) and Banco do Brasil are also partners of Terra Forte.

Education

Banco do Brasil Foundation invests in education projects that are built with society involvement, based on the idea that education emancipates and transforms. That is why education is one of the fields of action defined in the BB Foundation's bylaws since the beginning of its activities, as well as being one of the priority vectors in the social investment strategy.

Working in a transversal way, resources have been applied in programmes such as the AABB Community, the Digital Inclusion and the Memory Project, as well as in professional training and management of joint ventures of structured programmes, such as Cataforte and Ecoforte. The goal is to provide opportunities for learning and training, increasing the potential for empowerment and for social transformation of their communities.

AABB Community is a social technology that supplements school activities for children and adolescents in the public school system, aged between 6 and 18 years old. The Programme focuses in learning, forming citizenship, inserting on a day to day basis environmental sustainability and health themes, mobilizing not only the participants, but the local community and municipal governments. The Program, which is a partnership between the BB Foundation and FENABB, is carried out in AABBs throughout the country.

The Digital Inclusion Program provides access to information, and communication technologies and training of social educators, in partnership with local entities and third sector organizations. The target audience is the youth. The Metarecycling Station is another initiative of the Programme. Adolescents and youngsters are trained in the reconditioning computers, which are in turn distributed back to schools, libraries, community centers, among others. Electronic waste is donated by governments, companies and civil society in actions to raise awareness about the proper disposal of materials and the impacts on the environment.

The Memory Project seeks to reach teachers, public school students, libraries and community centers. It is a social technology that aims to disseminate the work of personalities who have contributed significantly to social transformation, the formation of Brazilian cultural identity and the development of the country.

Solid Waste

Banco do Brasil Foundation, has invested socially in programs and projects that stimulate the change of behavior and values in relation to the production and destination of Solid Waste. The correct management of these materials contributes to the raw material and waste return to the productive process, reducing the impact of garbage on the environment, generates income, and contributes to the implementation of the National Policy on Solid Waste in the urban environment, as per Law 12.305 of August 2, 2010.

Working with the solid waste production chain has been part of BB Foundation strategic plan since 2003. The foundation invests in training and in capacity building for self-management; infrastructure (sheds, machinery, equipment, vehicles); technical assistance; consolidation of associations and cooperatives of collectors of recyclable materials; and strengthening marketing networks. These actions promote social inclusion, through jobs, income, education, and the improvement of working conditions.

Related to the theme of solid waste, the Cataforte Programme started in 2007, when Banco do Brasil Foundation and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTPS), through the National Secretariat for Solidarity Economy (SENAES), formalized a partnership to invest in training of collectors of recyclable materials. The Cataforte aims to strengthen solidarity economic projects and is in its third phase of operation (Cataforte III). It is the result of a partnership among the National Movement of Collectors of Recyclable Materials (MNCR), FBB, Petrobras, BNDES, National Health Foundation (Funasa) , MMA, MTPS, Senaes and Secretary of Government of the Presidency of the Republic.

Partnerships