Porto Velho (RO) - What do the inhabitants of the Che Guevara camp in Alto Alegre dos Parecis, state of Rondonia, want most of all? They want a deed to the land they have been living on for the last seven years. It has been a long wait, but in the meantime they have been busy supplying the local economy with farm produce. Their camp cropland supplies 25% of the municipality's beans, corn and rice.
Their last bean harvest was an especially festive occasion because the government, through its Supply Corporation (Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento) (Conab), purchased the beans. "That really saved our lives. We had made a big investment in the crop," explained Felix Santiago, one of the camp directors. With the payment by the government, the farmers were able to pay off old debts and save a little for the future. "Some of the farmers were in a difficult situation," said Santiago.
Farmer Adão Costa is satisfied because without the government purchase he says he would not have been able to pay off his debts. "If we had to sell through middlemen we wouldn't have made a cent. We wouldn't have anything left over for our family's needs," he declared.
The local mayor, João Adelir Matt, says that although the government purchase helped the region as a whole, it was the farmer who came out ahead. "And that means we certainly will have a bigger harvest next year," he said.
The 130 families who live in the Che Guevara camp do their best to make it an agreeable place. There is a church, a school for young children, a soccer field and a room for parties where the preferred music loudly pulsates to a Northeastern rhythm known as the "Forró." Felix Santiago swears that during the seven years the camp has existed there have been no problems with the police. "Go ask the local sheriff. We have a zero crime rate here," he says.
The camp also has a garden and a homeopathic pharmacy that was built by a Catholic healthcare group. The pharmacy is famous among the locals and even has people from outside the camp as clients. "Homeopathic medicine not only helps, it cures those who believe," explains Vanessa Conceição, who says she never uses "regular" medicines, only homeopathic ones.
Agência Brasil
Reporter:Luciana Vasconcelos
Translator: Allen Bennett
