Combining straw with piassava fiber, Santilia dos Santos, 49 years old, rewrote the history of her community. Resident of Lagoa Santa, Ituberá (BA); she multiplied the family income by producing handicrafts, and influenced her neighbors. “Peoples saw my monthly profit and decided to join in”, says Santilia, who’s associated with the Cooperative of Rural Producers of the Pratigi Environmental Area of Protection (Cooprap).

The Cooprap is part of the Piassava Cooperative Alliance, which brings together the Agroforestry Family House (Cfaf), Industry Citizenship – producer of piassava brooms – and social partners such as Walmart, Tok&Stok, GBarbosa and Ebal.

Santilia has the support of her daughters. Maria Aparecida dos Santos, 15, is a pupil of Cfaf and, together with her mother, produces a variety of pieces such as baskets, bags, trays, and much more. “I want to be a great rural entrepreneur; I want to work with piassava, and never leave my community,” says the young lady.