Forests4Water Brazil: Community Climate Action

Dear donors, 

We hope you enjoyed your peek behind the scenes of the forestry program which we brought you in our last letter, and today we want to show you how we are getting ready for the dry season and the possibility of fire. 

Fire hasn't traditionally been a big hazard for us. But it's always good to be prepared. And we can't wait for the nearest fire fighting team to arrive - they are located forty five kilometers away and, even if they were available, it could take them several hours to reach us.

Since 2024 brought us an exceptional drought with no rain for several months, we decided that we needed to organize ourselves in advance.We asked the local fire brigade if they could come and give us a training session, fourteen people signed up for the weekend training, and so the first rural fire brigade in the area was established. Just as well, because shortly after that we did have a fire that licked at the edges of our forest, and we were able to put our new-found skills to work. 

A couple of weeks ago we had another training session, so that now we have thirty women and men who have been trained in fire fighting and first aid, we have extended our fire breaks and we're all set in case of need. One more way in which we are doing everything we can to protect and restore the forest.  

Thank you for having our back. We couldn't do it without your support!

with love and appreciation

 Luiz, Deivid and the Iracambi forestry team - not forgetting firefighters Gabi and Dayana!