APAEB was founded in 1980 and is located in the city of Valente in the so-called “sertao”,
the very dry region in the Northeast of Brasil, in fact it is one of the poorest regions of Brasil.

APAEB is actively working in a region with – today- 15 communities with about 450.000
inhabitants of which about 65% live in rural areas.

An inquiry made by the government in the last decade of the 20th century showed that people
of these communities live in great poverty, they have almost no access to the necessary minimum
quantities of calories and proteins for their daily life - in other words: they were starving.

The poverty in the “sertao” can be easily seen. It is enough to look at the conditions of living of
these people, the lack of important prerequisites for the daily livelihood.

The most important reasons for this situation are:

• A: the concentration of land in then hands of only a few – agricultural land is the the only
  available resource of production, if however only a minority owns so much land, the majority
  owns either only very little land or not at all.


• B: the absence of political support for the small farmers, giving them the means to increase
  their productivity.

When APAEB was founded, the most important point was to unite the small farmers by forming an association (or cooperative), making them participants of the value-adding-process of their sisal
production. Thereby APAEB represented a “power of buying” enabling their members to buy at low
cost their means of production as well as lowering the cost of living of the families.

A lot has since been realized by APAEB and the achieved progress is both the result of the work of
the people of the “sertao” and the aid APAEB received from international supporters. Those
supporters were and are believing in the good work of APAEB and continue their help with financial
and human resources.

APAEB has already done a lot for their people and a lot must still be done in the future. APAEB will
continue it’s work in the “sertao” and this was and is done under the motto “o sertao tem tudo que
se precisa. Se faltar a gente inventa” which means “the sertao offers all that we need. If something
is missing, the people will invent it”.

the most important projects of APAEB

posto de vendas – the APAEB shop
As one of their first activities, APAEB opened a small shop in 1981. There the members could buy
at low prices goods for their everyday living, but they could also sell their own products thru that
shop. Today the small shop is the biggest supermarket in Valente and as a result of it’s growth
the supermarket has become something like a “price controller” in Valente from which all citizens
of Valente benefit.

batedeira comunitaria – sisal fibre processing machine
this machine was the first “industrial” project of APAEB. Without that machine, the small farmers
were depending on outside buyers which dictated the fibre prices. This machine allowed APAEB
and the small farmers to become part of the value –adding “chain” and the marketing of
the sisal fibres.

industria – the sisal spinning and weaving plant
The sisal fibres sold by APAEB both in the domestic and foreign markets were in an industrial
scale processed to products such as, for example, floor coverings, which were traded at relatively
high prices – relative to the original cost of fibre. In view of this fact, APAEB decided to establish
itself directly in the market by building their own sisal spinning and weaving plant. In 1995,
APAEB thanks to financial support from the government as well as from foreign NGO’s, could
start with the production of yarns and carpets. Until then there was no comparable industrial
unit existing in the whole region. Hundreds of jobs were created and for about 2000 farmers’
families their conditions of living were rapidly improved because APAEB bought their sisal fibre
harvest at fair and sustainable prices.

Laticinio – the goat milk processing plant
Goats are unpretentious animals which survive also under the harsh conditions of the “sertao”.
Therefore APAEB initiated that the small farmers got interested in the breeding of goats in order
to thereby achieve an additional income. Consequently, APAEB decided to invest into the processing
of goat milk (dairy machine, cold storage) and today APAEB is a supplier of potable milk, Joghurt,
cheese – all made from goat milk. These products are being distributed in the region, and the
farmers as suppliers of goat milk are being invited by APAEB to attend schoolings about improving
both productivity and quality.

Energia solar – solar energy
APAEB initiated and helped financially with the acquisition of small photovoltaic installations for the production of electricity. Thus it became possible for the families of the small farmers to have at
night “light” in their houses.

Credito – the bank
The small farmers of the “sertao” are poor. Even low-cost-projects which were suggested by
the agricultural experts of APAEB could not be realized due to the lack of money. In view of this
APAEB initiated the foundation of a financial institution and finally a “bank” named COOPERE
was established which basically is a “credit cooperative” but structured as a bank, thereby having
access to govennment financial support and governmental programs for agricultural.

Cisternas – cisterns
Water is obviously very rare in the dry area of the “sertao” where, on an average, one can
expect an annual rain quantity of only about 500 mm. APAEB offers the communities the construction
of cisterns or water tanks and in this connection the following project is also very important.

Irrigacao, pocos – irrigation and water wells
As a pioneer in the region APAEB built a watering-system named “water only there where it’s
needed”. Each family having also a cistern, uses the system for the production of food (vegetables)
for their own consumption but also for sale on the various local markets. The APAEB
watering-system is simple, cheap and effective. For the water supply of a house a cistern is enough,
for a community however one needs wells.

The government in general did not support the search for such wells, saying that it was very difficult
to find water in the “sertao”. APAEB invested in a drilling machine and proved to the authorities that
in about 80% of searching and drilling wells ground water was found.

EFA = Escola Familia Agricola - The Agricultural Family School
The EFA teaches the children of the farmers’ families how to get on well with the conditions of the
“sertao”. The pupils stay for a week in the school for learning, working, sleeping there. Then they
return, again for a week, to their families – and again back to the school. This system of pedagogy
is known as “Pedagogia da Alternancia” or “regularly changing”. The pupils of the EFA learn about
the breeding of various animals such as chicken, goats, bees etc.), usefuls plants and the production
of humus with the help of worms. The EFA also has a laboratory where agricultural experiments are
carried out which – in case of good results – are passed on to the communities.

Preservacao – protection of environment
APAEB offers to the farmers courses of instruction ho to preserve the environment in the best way.
Each year thousands of young trees are being produced by APAEB and given to the farmers thereby
letting the region again “flourish” with fruits producing trees and other plants resistant to the drought. APAEB is also fighting against the cutting of trees and gives electric fences to farmers keeping animals thereby avoiding that too much wood is used for the construction of wooden fences with a ten-times
higher consumption of wood compared with the electric fences.

internet: www.apaeb.com.br (APAEB Brasil) and www.apaeb-europa.com

APAEB has received support from following NGO’s (Non-Government Organizations) and GO’s (Government Organizations)

BNDS Rio de Janeiro (GO)
Cordaid, Holland (NGO)
DISOP, Belgium (NGO)
The Kellog Foundation (NGO)
Manos Unidos, Spain (NGO)
SOS-PG, Belgium (NGO)
SIMFR, Belgium (NGO)
Kreditbank, Belgium
Schwab Foundation, Switzerland (NGO)
The Doen Foundation, Holland (NGO)
The Heinrich Boell Foundation, Germany (NGO)
Il Canalli, Italy (NGO)
Latin America Centre, Germany (NGO)
MLAL, Italy (NGO)
Brot fuer die Welt (bread for the world), Germany (NGO)
Misereor, Germany (NGO)

… and the support continues!

APAEB Europa GmbH
mail[at]apaeb-europa.de

Die internationale Entwicklungs- hilfegesellschaft DISOP unter- stützt APAEB Brasilien und APAEB Europa.

Eine brasilianisch-europäische Initiative.