The Xingu Seeds Network project
is an initiative that's been going for 10 years.
Its main aim is reforesting the source of the Xingu River,
because the source of the Xingu, one of the most important waterways,
is located outside the Xingu indigenous territory.
Mato Grosso state is the biggest grain producer in Brazil,
and the Xingu territory is a forest island
in a sea of soy and corn monocultures.
There is also toxic rain,
because there are many crop planes
that spray poison onto the soy monocultures.
Most of the forests in the region
have become agricultural fields.
But there's also Xingu territory,
which is one of the most important natural parks in the world.
It is home to 16 ethnic groups speaking 16 different languages.
One of the goals of the Seeds Network in Xingu
was to carry out a survey of the springs outside the Xingu region.
Because the Xingu leaders
realised that the water quality was getting worse.
The water was getting murky and more gravelly.
We decided that
we needed to talk to the farmers, the government, and the city councils
so we can act in order to preserve the Xingu springs and headwaters.
That's how the Xingu Seeds Network was born.
At first it was called "Y Ikatu Xingu",
which means "good water of Xingu" in the Tupi language.
"Y Ikatu Xingu" means "good water of Xingu".
So we began taking steps to carry out reforestation,
but in order to do that we needed seeds.
Those seeds only exist in the Xingu indigenous territory,
which is still an island of forest.
Then we were approached by the Yarang Women's Movement,
which is a group in my community of the Ikpeng people.
The name of the movement, "Yarang", means "leafcutter ant",
which are the ergates, the worker ants.
The ants run through the forest picking up seeds
which they take home. They benefit from that.
It's the same with the women's movement.
They go to the forest together and pick up seeds,
then bring them home to process the seeds.
That's how the women's movement was born together with the Seeds Network:
The goal was to reforest
the springs of the Xingu River in the Xingu region.
The Seeds Network is a 10-year-old project,
just like the Yarang Women's Movement,
and so far the Seeds Network has reforested 6000 hectares of river springs.
The Yarang Women's Movement alone
has collected more than one ton of seeds
to make reforestation possible.
Thanks to the women's movement we have planted one million trees.
If you want more information on both projects,
I'll give you the details so you can go to our website:
sementesdoxingu.org.br.
You can find us on Instagram here: @sementesdoxingu.
You can also find more information on Facebook:
Facebook, Rede de Sementes do Xingu.
You can go there for more details,
and you can find games and other useful information.
You can also support this initiative,
both the Yarang Women's Movement and the Seeds Network, by visiting our website.
That's why I'm inviting you to learn a bit more
about the Xingu Seeds Network and the Yarang Women's Movement
on these social media.
The whole ecosystem exists in a reciprocal relationship:
Forests are required for clean healthy water in the rivers.
By carrying out reforestation
we aim to make the rivers free
of pesticides and other toxic substances.
When the Forest Code was revised,
the Xingu River springs area suffered most
because the new legislation allowed the landowners...
... to reduce...
... the permanent preservation areas, the APP.
These protected APP areas and the size of a river's source area
should, according to the law, be based on the size of the whole river
and the size of the forested area around the source.
As I said, the leaders, the communities, the Xingu people,
all started to realise that the quality of the water
wasn't ideal, it wasn't the same.
That has a direct impact on the indigenous people, because they depend on the water.
We fish there, we bathe in the Xingu River.
But the springs are all outside the Xingu region.
If we are able to preserve the source of the river,
it would maintain the quality of the water.
Just as we have eyelashes
to protect our eyes,
the river has its plants.
But without plant protection the river will get sick.
So, it's very important to preserve the springs.
That's why we started this initiative, because it's very important
to reforest those springs.