Fazenda Tamanduá 2003 - Social Responsibility

Besides the fixed jobs (cowboy, tractor driver, manual laborer, mason...) we offer many temporary jobs, especially during the mango harvesting period, which coincides with the dry season, a difficult time, with few jobs at the small farms in the neighborhood.

As there are a lot of young people, we have made working hours more flexible in order to allow those who want to study, to do so. The municipal school located at the farm has three teachers, and classes that go from nursery and kindergarten up to 4^th grade. About 40 children attend the school. From 5^th grade on, the pupils go to schools in Santa Terezinha or Patos, and are taken to and fetched at the highway so that they can use the municipal school bus.

A course on Organic Agriculture for the employees of the farm was given by Richard Charity, an ABD Consultant. The course was intended to give them a better understanding of our vision of the world.

The Elo Institute, which organizes the Basic Course in Biological-Dynamic Agriculture, in Botucatu, has received and will be receiving new students from Tamanduá Farm, so that they can get to know Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy and precepts. These courses are very important because they also make it possible to introduce our employees into the Brazilian organic community, where they meet organic producers and students of biodynamic agriculture from other regions of this vast and varied country.

Investing in the community

Tamanduá Farm has supported training courses for environmental practice disseminators, and arranged visits and field trips for students – especially those of the Santa Terezinha Municipal School – both to the Private Nature Reserve and to the agricultural and cattle raising areas.

In order to contribute to a milk distribution program for people with low incomes in the municipalities of the State, Tamanduá Farm invested in what was the first small pasteurizing unit for goats’ milk, which ensures perfect hygiene and preservation of the product. This milk also goes to the day care center, the maternity hospital and to the primary schools of the town of Santa Terezinha.

Crianças na creche da Fazenda Tamanduá

In 2002, an agreement was signed between INCRA (National Agrarian Reform Institute), Sebrae (the small entrepreneurs’ support service) and Mocó Agropecuária, to promote the introduction and expansion of certified organic agriculture in the State of Paraíba, with a view to exportation and internal consumption. This is to be achieved mainly by stimulating “agreements for the preparation and occupation of areas suitable for organic cultivation, with emphasis on integration with the agro-ecological model of the settlement areas established by agrarian reform, including those acquired henceforth”; and also by “training managers, specialists and disseminators for the introduction of organic farming projects, while ensuring the conditions required for certification according to the model followed by Mocó Agropecuária Ltda.”

Picture taked when was signed the agrreement to promote organic agriculture in the state of Paraíba.

From left to right:

Antônio Lomanto Neto / Administrative Manager of the local Development Unit / SEBRAE National Office
Arlindo Pereira de Almeida / Superintendent of SEBRAE Paraiba Office
Francisco Marinho Medeiros / President of EMATER - Paraiba
Pierre Landolt / Fazenda Tamanduá
Ronald Queiroz / Director of SEBRAE Paraiba Office
Márcio Araújo / Superintendent of INCRA Paraiba Office

Investing in training

Tamanduá Farm offers traineeships in agriculture and cattle raising in the semi-arid region, with a view to disseminating its work and models. It has a house that was specially refurbished for this purpose and can lodge 4 people. We signed an Agreement for Supervised Curricular Traineeships with the Agricultural Sciences Faculty of UNESP (São Paulo State University), located in the Campus of Botucatu - SP, under which we have already received trainees.

Each trainee leaves his or her mark on the history of Tamanduá Farm as a result of his or her observations, friendship and work.

These traineeships are extremely important in favoring cultural interchange and in providing an opportunity to compare problems and solutions pertaining to each region of Brazil. Nothing better than day-to-day experience to learn how a farm works and the challenges it presents!

Send us your CV!

José Eduardo Bertini
Estudante do 5° ano de Agronomia
Estágio curricular supervisionado de conclusão de curso.
Universidade Estadual Paulista
– UNESP – Campus de Botucatu

Investing in leisure

Because of the low average age of the farm’s staff, naturally there are many forrós (dance parties), weddings and births, lots of opportunities to arrange celebrations, besides Christmas, Easter and the traditional Brazilian “June Parties”.

The school court is often used for these purposes, especially for the June Parties, when Eliete organizes the already traditional Quadrilha do Arraiá Tamanduá (Tamanduá Village Quadrille); there are two distinct quadrilles – one for the “little ones” and one for the “old ones”. The costumes are designed and made at the Farm itself, and are always a great success and make everyone happy.

Masses are also celebrated at the same place. Even a collective wedding was celebrated, bringing together ten couples of all ages who were “unofficially” married (with only a civil wedding), who Father Albertino of Santa Terezinha made a point of marrying in the Church.

Casamento

In 2002, the House of Zé Bié – which will become a permanent recreation center – was inaugurated. An impressive taipa (mud wall) house, totally restored with respect for tradition, it will be used for the Sunday card, domino and drafts tournaments, in addition to being the ideal place for the Farm’s own parties and events.

To enliven these events, we even have a band: the Tamanduá Trio, whose soul and singer is our cowboy, Rubens, a forró expert. The Tamanduá Trio has a big repertoire of forró music from “the foot of the mountain”, with music composed by themselves, like that of the more famous Northeastern composers.They have recorded a CD, and participate successfully in the June Parties at Patos and in the region.
Their dream is to fly higher ...

Trio Tamanduá

Wire horse mady by Joaquim

Some of our workers have a talent for plastic arts: Adelino works with wood, making beautiful marquetry pictures inspired by nature. Adelino also makes replication of Brazilian colonial furniture in wood.

Joaquim produces works of papier mâché and wire which have found their way beyond the borders of Patos.

Sports have not been forgotten: we have two football fields, one being an ordinary field and the other – with lighting – for indoor football; and almost every week we have competitions between the Farm’s two teams.