On the margins of the Brazilian Amazon, the state of Maranhão is a crucial transition territory, where development pressures make environmental and social balances particularly fragile.
On November 6, 2025, the São Raimundo Casa de Farinha was inaugurated in the community of Vila São Jorge, in Cidelândia, Maranhão. This new community-based agro-industry is dedicated to processing cassava, a staple food for millions of people and a cornerstone of food security in Amazonian rural communities.
The initiative is a new milestone of the project “Together We Plant the Future”, which we have been carrying out since 2023 in partnership with the Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento e Sustentabilidade (IABS) and in collaboration with local organizations.
The facility was created to generate income, strengthen the cassava value chain and improve working conditions for family farmers. It is collectively managed by the Associação dos Pequenos Produtores Rurais do Projeto de Assentamento São Jorge (ASPRAJORGE) and represents a concrete step toward more equitable and sustainable territorial development.
Equipped with modern machinery, water reuse systems, waste treatment solutions and features designed to improve thermal comfort, the Casa de Farinha can produce up to one ton of flour per day, with an estimated annual output of around 260 tons. In doing so, it enhances traditional knowledge deeply rooted in the territory.
Promoting the leadership of local communities through sustainable solutions that generate income and strengthen the bioeconomy is a core pillar of the “Together We Plant the Future” project. The Casa de Farinha stands as a tangible symbol of territorial development, capable of transforming traditional knowledge into a collective enterprise with positive social and environmental impact. “The strengthening of institutional capacity is reflected in the ongoing training processes that have enabled the Agrovila São Jorge Association to manage the enterprise effectively. The collective management model — with a Management Committee and a Technical Committee — ensures democratic decision-making and actively engages the community in the day-to-day operation of the business,” says Carolina Sales, the project’s Operational Coordinator.
The local community also highlights the immediate benefits. “Now we can produce more, with less effort and under much better conditions,” says Reginaldo Marques de Sousa, a producer and long-standing reference for flour production in the area. The project improves not only efficiency, but also the quality of life of the families involved.
The São Raimundo Casa de Farinha is part of a broader project strategy active in nine municipalities across Maranhão and Pará, with the support of Sofidel and Suzano. By connecting fragmented and isolated forest áreas, the initiative will help create a major biodiversity corridor, promoting ecological connectivity across 2,210 square kilometers of rainforest.
A project that shows how local development, environmental protection and social justice can move forward together—starting from communities and from the value of the land they inhabit.
