Small stories of Brazilian social business

Research, Development and Innovation

1. ADAPTA SERTÃO | WINNER IN THE CATEGORY BUSINESS WITH RURAL IMPACT SOLUTION

In a place with intense and long periods of drought, in the semi-arid region in the interior of Bahia, rural producers were suffering from low and oscillating productivity, which aggravated the extreme poverty of the region. In order to foster development in the semi-arid, Adapta Sertão, idealized and coordinated by the Human Development Network (REDEH), was working with social technologies for adaptation to climate change.

Adapta restructured rural properties through the MAIS program (Intelligent and Sustainable Agro-climatic Module), thereby strengthening producers through the application of social technologies; intensive training; and systematized technical monitoring. It also fostered rural development through agricultural cooperativism and partnerships with research institutes, public and private entities, and financial institutions.

With over ten years of activity in the semi-arid state of Bahia, Adapta promoted food security, poverty reduction and the preservation of the Caatinga. Through the MAIS Program, it had supported more than one hundred family farms, which saw their production rise by more than 50% and their income by over 200%. To learn more: www.adaptasertao.net.

2. CARBORROZ| WINNER IN THE CATEGORY BUSINESS WITH SOCIAL IMPACT SOLUTION

Marina Technology had been involved in the development of new materials for the chemical industry since 2009 and was studying the transformation of the residue from the burning of rice husks into simple and inexpensive filtering equipment, as to contribute to basic sanitation in Brazil – in a context in which nearly 50% of inhabitants still did not have access to sewage collection (2017).

Through research and market studies, Marina Technology devised Carborroz, activated charcoal for filtering equipment, produced from the 200,000 tons of rice husk ash that are annually generated by Brazil's thermoelectric plants.

With low cost production, the product would be sustainable and had scaling potential. In addition to dealing with the issue of basic sanitation in Brazil, Carborroz would also have an environmental impact, in so far as it would reduce the disposal of ashes from rice hulls, which were causing desertification and fires. To learn more: www.marinatecnologia.com.