Bahia’s Baixo Sul Environmental Protection Area Mosaic Integrated and Sustainable Development Program (PDIS), supported by the Odebrecht Foundation, recently celebrated an important victory. The Igrapiúna Rural Family Home (CFR-I) and Agroforest Family Home (Cfaf), both in Nilo Peçanha, were authorized to administer courses integrated with the Vocational Professional Technical Education High School courses in Agribusiness and Vocational Professional Technical Education in Forests, respectively. The certification, recognized by the Bahia State Education Board (CEE), was published on June 9 in Bahia’s Official Gazette.

“We are privileged to have access to an institution that encourages us to seek solutions to the problems faced by our community,” said Rafael Souza, age 19, a student at Cfaf. For Alana de Jesus, age 21, also a student of the institution, the achievement represents a major advance: “We receive the assurance that we are at a certified teaching unit that offers quality education,” she said.

On May 24, the projects received a positive rating from the Technical Professional Education Chamber (CEE), under the coordination of the entity’s president, Aylana Alves Gazar Barbalho, and the reporting professional, Albertino Ferreira Nascimento Júnior. “It is yet another victory for rural education and proof that this is a model that truly meets the needs of the rural youth,” said Robson Kisaki, Executive Director of CFR-I.

“I’m very happy to discover that there was the approval of a school practice adapted to the reality of youth from the quilombola and rural communities, which encourages them to become the leading figures in their own histories,” said Suzana Baiardi, Executive Director of Cfaf.

Pioneering Approach
The Presidente Tancredo Neves Rural Family Home was the first in Brazil’s North-Northeastern region to earn this type of approval. The youth who complete the three years of training at the teaching unit receive their high school diplomas integrated with the vocational course in cattle raising.

Trade-Off Teaching
The Rural Family Homes are responsible for developing human capital in Bahia’s Southern Lowlands region. The educational institutions associated with PDIS seek to offer a high quality professional education to the youth, encouraging their permanence in the rural areas and in family farming.

The methodology used is called “Trade-Off Teaching,” which allows the students to spend a week as interns with lessons in the classroom and on the field, and another two weeks on the properties, applying their new knowledge.