Wealth from waste

Maria do Socorro Sousa de Aquino works in a community kitchen garden in São Lourenço, Brazil [Marcella Haddad]

Women are growing healthy food for their families in São Lourenço near Recife, Brazil - and also earning an income from the surplus they grow

The site of a former rubbish tip in São Lourenço near Recife, is unrecognisable nowadays as it has been transformed into a beautiful garden.

It took twelve women eight days to clear the waist-high plastic, bottles and scrap metal before they even got to the weeds.

Now five women work in the garden. They water the plants twice a day by hand and put straw over the soil to keep moisture in and stop weeds growing.

Boosting health

This is one of many community allotments set up by CAFOD partner the Centre for Popular Medicine (CNMP).

The projectsinvolve local people – mainly women – in the cultivation and use of organic fruit and vegetables and medicinal plants.

The aim is to improve the nutrition of poor communities and to boost income through the sale of fruit and vegetables.

The women of São Lourenço started by producing enough fruit and vegetables for their own families, but now they also sell surplus produce to friends and neighbours in the area.

The group earns around £50 - £60 a month, and divides it between themselves.

"But it's not just about the financial benefit," says CNMP worker Júlio César de Paula Pinto. "They also take home healthy food for their families."

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