Family Home supported by Odebrecht Foundation wins SDGs Brazil Award

In December 2018, the Agroforest Family Home (Cfaf) was recognized by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Brazil Award. Chosen from over a thousand submissions, Cfaf – a technical high school supported by the Odebrecht Foundation through the Program for Development and Growth Integrated with Sustainability (PDCIS) – placed second in the “Education, Research and Extension Institutions” category in a ceremony held at Palácio do Planalto, Brasília (Federal District).

Rita Cardoso, Director of Cfaf, with the award certificate and trophy

“It’s confirmation of all the work we do at Cfaf in the communities of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia and in youth education. Having our actions known nationwide is the best reward we could receive, and today we already are a reference in good practices that effectively contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals across Brazil,” said Rita Cardoso, the director of the Family home who coordinated the submission of the case entitled, “Emancipatory education and multiplier initiatives in the rural communities of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia.” “Achievements like these give visibility to multiplier actions and what they represent within the Sustainable Development Goals. Guided by the teachers, the students talk with their families and other farmers about topics related to these objectives,” she added.

With the result, Cfaf becomes part of a database of practices that will serve as a reference for implementing and disseminating the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations. Lázaro Rodrigues, educational assistant, emphasized that the SDGs Brazil Award represents a significant achievement that goes beyond the walls of the Family Home. “It’s an honor for us and a sense of mission accomplished. The award is for the community and all those who contributed so that this dream stays alive, which is working to promote sustainable development, humane education and, above all, contributing to the social transformation of our country.”

The award ceremony was attended by ministers, UN representatives and members of civil society.

Winners of the SDGs Brazil 2018 awards

“We are valuing the contribution of people and organizations dedicated to fulfilling the sustainable development goals in Brazil. Men and women who work to improve people’s lives,” said the Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha in a speech read on behalf of President Michel Temer.

Cfaf in the spotlight

In addition to the SDGs Brazil Award, the Family Home also was highlighted in two categories of the II Symposium of Research and Experiences in Family Agriculture 2018, which was organized in November in Salvador, Bahia by the Executive Coordination of Research, Innovation and Technological Extension (Cepex) through the Rural Development Department (SDR) of the Bahia state.

At the symposium, Cfaf presented two academic papers in the Axis I debate category: “Promoting apiculture through the technical education of young students in the Agroforest Family Home of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia seeking social and productive inclusion and the generation of household income,” which won first place, and “Harmful and functional biodiversity associated with Bahia Oranges in the agroforest system of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia,” which won third place.

Cfaf’s work with young people in the Lowlands of Southern Bahia was recognized in other important awards

In December, Cfaf also was recognized with the “Social Technology” award by Cepex and the SDR of Bahia state. In the category “Extension and Technical Support,” the school won first place for the technology “Agroecological Backyards: Social and Productive Inclusion of Youth in the Rural Communities of the Lowlands of Southern Bahia,” which was certified and awarded as a social technology.

To Natalino dos Santos, 21, a former student and currently an intern at Cfaf working with apiculture, awards such as these are a source of pride. “We see the school becoming known and the awards opening doors to new projects. Each of us, young graduates and students, contributed a little to this achievement. It’s very important that other people witness the work done by Cfaf to educate adolescents and enable them to live in rural areas.”