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Thus was born APAEB, Associação dos Pequenos Agricultores do Estado da Bahia.
The group initially faced a lot of resistance, mostly from the farmers themselves, says 42-year-old Oliveira, APAEB's
mastermind and a former farmer himself. Small producers, most of whom had little formal education, had trouble visualizing
what an association could do for them as they were used to politicians who had often neglected their needs once elected.
Local government leaders also frowned at the idea of an independently-run association fermenting in their town. Contacts for
outside funding were scarce. Plus, there were the obvious biological limitations of the area.
So, the group jumped on the bandwagon of a movement started by the Catholic Church to empower poor communities
nationwide against the military's political and economic repression. Bible groups soon turned into farm workers' gatherings
under the leadership of Oliveira – who had, by then, managed to complete his secondary studies and become an
accountant.
They held regular meetings and fomented political and social awareness. They also built neighborhood markets where
farmers could sell their products. Gradually, the group took off independently from the local religious forces and created an
administrative body composed solely of subsistence farmers.
Breathing New Life Into the Semi-Arid Bleakness
"The desert has everything we need. Whatever it lacks, we'll invent." Such has become the motto of APAEB and the
renewed inspiration many growers needed to take their prosperity and that of the region's economy into their own hands.
"Tico" Louriel dos Santos Cunha, 18, a graduate of APAEB's rural school, has learned to raise drought resistant animals, like the goat, that are well suited to this arid environment
Versatile and committed, the association pioneered a series of activities in the area conducive to the semi-arid region.
As an institution, APAEB used this motto to build, create, and effectively manage its own resource base. In its first years,
APAEB relied solely on grants from state and foreign donors – mainly the Belgium government and a handful of institutions
from The Netherlands (Doen Foundation), Germany (Heinrich Boll Foundation), the United States (Inter American
Foundation) and Belgium (Disop). As the world's largest sisal importers, these European countries had an eye on the area –
among the largest sisal producing regions – and supported the association with grants and expertise.
From its original half-a-dozen founders, the association ballooned to its current 400 associates, all of whom have a say in all
the major steps taken by APAEB. It directly employs some 800 workers in the region, making it the second-largest
employer in Valente, second only to city hall.
APAEB achieved sustainability by administering four self-imposed rules of thumb: managing production to remain
competitive and economically viable; conserving the environment and its natural resources; mobilizing community support;
and battling social inequality and poverty.
Standing on its Own
With an annual revenue of R$12.5 million (U.S.$7.3 million), all of which is converted back into the association's activities as
operating budget, APAEB's key sources of sustainability are:
The Sisal Factory: Operational since 1997, it is the backbone of the association, generating 92 percent of its
revenue. It sells more than 6,500 metric tons of sisal a year, 70 percent of which is exported as carpets, rugs or the
fiber itself. It buys nearly all the sisal produced in the area and employs 600 locals at its plant. "Our goal is for our
production (at the factory) to (fully) support our other programs," says Oliveira. "Little by little we'll get there."
Funders: About six percent of APAEB's revenue still comes from outside sources – national and international
CSOs – to help fund the association's activities.
The Goat Skin and Milk Production Centers: Though still in the crawling stages, the two centers have created the
possibility for farmers to diversify their farming. The association provides technical assistance and credit to farmers
raising goats – an animal that survives the heat well. Some 120 liters of goat milk and several pairs of shoes, purses
and belts made from goatskin are produced at the centers and sold at local and markets and neighboring cities. The association hopes to increase production of goat-made accessories for future export.
The Grocery Store: One the association's first ventures, it is ten times bigger today than it was in 1981 when it first
opened its doors. It contributes only a small percentage to the sustainability of the association, but it's larger
contribution has been that of strengthening an APAEB identity in the region. Association members both sell their
products and buy their groceries at the store, which is centrally located near APAEB's headquarters in downtown
Valente. It has also played a key role in raising the community's buying power by selling everyday commodities like
coffee, sugar, milk and bread at nominal prices, forcing competing stores to keep their prices down.
Membership Fees: Farmers joining the association pay a one-time R$38 (U.S.$19) fee, which is deposited into a
communal credit fund that has been building up along the years. The farmers themselves reap the benefits because the
money is invested into educational programs like music and theater groups; a literacy school for adults; technical
assistance; and short-term loans for farmers.
Making Desert Thorns Bloom
With the revenue generated from its activities and the miniscule external aid, APAEB was able to implement a series of
programs that enriched the region culturally and boosted the local economy. These include loans to farmers at low interest
rates, technical support with frequent visits by agronomists and other experts, a rural school to teach the farmers' children
how to efficiently run a farm, wells to store water throughout the area, and a recreation club with a pool and dance hall for
entertainment.
The association has changed lives, acknowledges 18-year-old "Tico" Louriel dos Santos Cunha, a graduate from APAEB's
rural school. The association has also given him the opportunity to pursue what he loves the most – studying animals. The
rural school gave him hands-on experience on how to raise better goats and pigs as well as other farm animals, and
encouraged him to pass his knowledge on to his hard-headed father.
"Tico" Louriel dos Santos Cunha, graduated from APAEB's rural school (grades 5 to 8) in 1999 and currently attends another rural school, where he will finish high school. Cunha says his goal is to study biology at a state university and one day run his own farm. He believes the APAEB school has taught him some valuable skills for how to survive and make a living in the desert. Children at school are encourage to pass their knowledge on to their parents and relatives, so that they too can become better farmers. "A lot of people work on the field and a lot of things wrong," Cunha says.
With a small loan acquired from the association's fund, Tico's father bought a car and made improvements around the farm.
"Earlier, it was very hard," Tico says. "Though there was money to support the family, it was very
tight."
Ask Oliviera, and he'll corroborate this. The youngest of five children, the lanky, brown-skinned boy battled 104-degree F
temperatures year-round to help his family cut sisal palms. It was tough, dangerous work, and workers braved the risk of
having their hands sucked into the shredding machine, the only non-manual part of the operation. Like the other sisaleiros,
as sisal farmers are called, Oliveira and his family lacked the autonomy and capital to increase production. They were forced
to sell their crops at very low prices to local brokers who made large profit margins by reselling the fiber to private sisal
factories in the state capital.
Several aspects of APAEB's initiative have led to small and large successes with bright overtones for the future.
It has set an example for other independent groups who may want to mirror their actions by self-mobilizing and emphasizing
a bottom-up approach. As help from local government seemed unlikely, APAEB took an active approach to overcoming
poverty and igniting the region's economy.
They started by networking for contacts and support to change the situation in their favor. First, they networked within the
community to build strength through numbers. Next, they worked at the state level, lobbying the governor to grant them an
exporter's license and submitting funding proposals to Brazilian CSOs (civil society organizations). Finally, to fully develop its
projects, APAEB submitted funding proposals internationally to the Belgium government and a number of CSOs from
Europe and the United States.
Sisal thrasher facility, where the coarse sisal fiber is softened and packaged into large rolls to be transported to the factory, where it is processed, treated, and woven into carpets that are exported to Europe. Workers at the thrasher must wear masks to keep them from inhaling chunks of the fiber, which can be very irritating to the respiratory system.
APAEB has received numerous national and international awards and public recognition for its work. It is the region's most
successful example of sustainability and cooperativism and serves as a model of resilience, creativity and organization for
other independent institutions in the state.
They have "the most successful (communal) experience in the whole sisal region," says Frederico Fernandes de Souza, of the
state's Labor and Social Action Bureau. "They serve as a reference in the region."
Another official, Cérgio Téquio, director of the Central Credit Cooperative of Bahia, an agency that coordinates the efforts
of all 40 credit cooperatives in the state comments: "When they drafted their objective, they headed straight out to get it."
APAEB's financial arm, COOPERE (Valente's Rural Credit Cooperative) is a member, with more than 2,000 clients.
Téquio praises their entrepreneuring spirit and "serious way of conducting business."
Second, APAEB linked sustainable export management and sisal growing. After decades of being exploited by sisal brokers
who paid them little for the fiber but made large profits selling it to factories in the state capital, in 1998, local farmers earned
the right to export their sisal directly.
Third, in opening the factory, APAEB helped halt a steady decline experienced by the region's sisal industry in the last
decade. From 1992 to 1996, production of sisal fiber in the state fell by 30 percent to 115,000 metric tons from 165,000
metric tons. But in the years from 1996 (just before the factory's inauguration) to 1999, work at the factory helped slash the
decline rate in production to 4.5 percent, as per the association records. It also helped boost the market value of the sisal. In
the early 1990s, a metric ton of fiber was worth R$150 (U.S.$75), compared to R$450 (U.S.$225) today.
Fourth, it significantly improved the quality of the life of farmers in the region. Association records show that growers'
monthly earnings have increased on average 14 percent after they joined the association. Before joining APAEB, about 82
percent of families researched by the association earned less than R$130 (U.S.$65), less than the country's monthly
minimum wage of R$150 (U.S.$75). After joining, that number fell to 25 percent and the number of families earning more
than R$200 (U.S.$100) a month rose to 42 percent from a previous 3 percent.
This is due partly to APAEB's smart thinking in creating a financial arm separate from the association's social body.
COOPERE (Valente's Rural Credit Cooperative) was created in 1993 as a cooperative bank. Some of its greatest
accomplishments have been:
- Giving all APAEB associates and 2,000 other area residents access to checking accounts. While other banks require
a minimal amount deposited for opening accounts, COOPERE allows its clients to open an account with any amount
of money.
- Granting farmers access to short and long-term loans at low interest rates to develop small and larger projects at the
farm. In the past five years, through COOPERE, APAEB has made available some R$1.4 million (U.S.$700,000)
worth in rural credits to small producers.
Administering the association's communal fund.
Sisal fiber being separated into large rolls and woven at the factory
- APAEB has also demonstrated a long-term view of conservation by creating and showing continuous commitment to a
reforestation program and a region-wide campaign to promote the use of solar energy. More than 100,000 seedlings have
been planted in the area and dozens of families have gained access to solar energy by purchasing solar panels with help from
the association.
The Road Ahead
Achieving sustainability has taken a lot of work, patience and commitment. But most of all, it was due to running a
cooperative-like association like a company, that made the difference.
"Organization and professionalism are very important," says Oliveira, who thanks his stint in the private sector for fine-tuning
those skills. Before co-founding the association, he worked for nearly three years at a bank in Feira de Santana, an hour
south of Valente and where Oliveira currently lives with his wife Marcia and their two children, 12-year-old Uirã and
10-year-old Tiara.
APAEB is administered by a 21-member council that oversees the group's programs and gives the final say on all major
decisions. Every problem or decision taken by the association is first voted on by the 400-member general assembly, which
meets every month at APAEB's two-story office in downtown Valente. "Here, thank God, democracy works," says
Oliveira, who carries the title of APAEB's general manager.
Despite its advances, Oliveira recognizes that there is still much work to be done. The association's professionalism and
commitment to success comes across clearly through the members themselves, most of whom walk around in T-shirts with
APAEB's logo emblazoned across. Their friendly smiles welcome year-round national and international visitors who are
trying to learn more about APAEB or are interested in using them as a model for their institutions.
But some of the association's directors are illiterate and most have less than a sixth-grade education, which often hinders
their ability to comprehend larger issues and help solve more complicated problems.
A 77-page report prepared in 2000 by a team of academics and other experts commissioned by the association to evaluate
its 20-year performance, has helped APAEB recognize its accomplishments and set goals for the next few years. A
so-called "strategic committee" made up of association directors, factory managers and outside experts occasionally called in
to help, is currently trying to come up with tangible solutions that APAEB hopes to materialize within the next few years.
Some of the goals include:
- Strengthening partnerships with government. Local government leaders recognize the association's work is "a relief to
public coffers" but are bothered by it being in the hands of independent small growers, Oliveira claims. The Valente
mayor donated the land where APAEB built the factory and paid the salaries of two teachers at the rural school. But
that has been the extent, thus far, of APAEB's ties with city hall. Hopes were renewed earlier this year when a new
mayor took office in Valente. Though he is a member of Bahia's traditionally powerful rightwing Liberal Front Party,
many in Valente are hopeful that the new leader will be more sympathetic to their plight.
- Paying off a U.S.$4.5 million bank loan the association took in order to build the factory. Nearly half the association's
revenue every month goes toward paying off the installments, which Oliveira hopes will be paid off completely by
2005.
- Researching and implementing ways to maximize use of the sisal fiber. For lack of technology, capital and
commitment, Brazil makes use of only five percent of its sisal plant. Kenya and China, on the other hand, have
invested heavily in research and found countless medicinal and commercial uses for the plant's bagasse. In Mexico,
the sisal juice is used as an ingredient in making the country's famous tequila. "With a country as poor as ours, to
throw away 95 percent of a natural resource is absurd," Oliveira says, his eyes shrinking in disbelief.
- Making the rural school a self-sufficient institution. Currently, the school is a financial burden on the association, biting
off R$9,000 (U.S.$4,500) a month from its budget and generating hardly anything. Oliveira and the school
coordinators hope to establish firmer partnerships with local governments so that they can pay teachers' salaries and
fund part of the school's programs.
- Expanding APAEB branches in other cities throughout the state.
- Acquiring computers and other technologies for the factory and administrative offices and training people to use them
to help run APAEB more efficiently.
- Expanding its solar-energy and reforestation programs.
- Enhancing marketing strategies. The association's daily 15-minute radio program is widely regarded as disorganized
and not very useful. APAEB also publishes an annual report, which is distributed to its partners abroad and statewide,
and a monthly newspaper, Folha do Sisal, with a circulation of 4,000 copies. Neither have versions in languages
other than Portuguese. The association's sole communication expert works only part-time due to funding constraints.
And since many of APAEB's supporters are foreign groups, Oliveira says he would eventually like to see the
association's newspaper and recently-launched Web page available in English and other languages.
- Building a daycare center and forming youth groups to mobilize Valente's youth. Oliveira's wife, 34-year-old Márcia,
recently joined APAEB with the charge of forming support groups for teenagers and increasing activities at the
association's social club – equipped with a swimming pool and spacious recreation area.
Local children play "capoeira" at APAEB's social club, built for the association's members and their children. The association is in the process of developing recreational activities for the farmers' children at the club. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art/dance inherited from African slaves, who were brought to the country centuries ago.
APAEB will finance its future development through income generated by the factory, which has continuously increased
production, and with the help of a much-awaited low-interest loan it recently acquired from the government's development
agency, BNDES.
The R$3.9 million (U.S.$1.95 million) loan will be applied as working capital for the factory, used to purchase new machines
and to run the association's work in Valente and a dozen other farming communities.
While it took 20 years for the government "to notice the association," complains Oliveira, he is grateful for the extra money.
But then, nothing ever bloomed easily in the desert.
"It's a tough trip," Ismael Oliveira says. "But when you look back and see what has been done, you see you can't give up."
Needs:
- School supplies and transportation for students of the rural school
- Technicians and educators: specialists in economics, marketing, computer science
- Resources for: wells; educational and social programs; teacher salaries; expansion of the reforestation and solar energy programs; implementing artificial insemination to increase milk production at the animal farms
- Vehicles to transport technicians to and from farms and neighboring communities
- Researchers to identify how to maximize sisal usage for commercial purposes
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