Reserva do Paiva
Delightful prospects
A real estate project underway on the coast of Pernambuco, Brazil, fuels socioeconomic development and environmental preservation
written by: Humberto Werneck
photos by: Almir Bindilatti
However, according to engineer Ruy Rêgo, the OR Investment Director (CEO) who led the conception
of Reserva do Paiva - 526 hectares of paradise, including 8.6 km of beaches, 5 km of rivers and 500 hectares of hitherto almost untouched Atlantic Forest – all this is not that surprising. “The idea all along was to make the project an inducer of development for the surrounding area as well,” explains Ruy.
As a result, sustainability has become the main focus of this real estate development. To make it happen, the first step was to survey the local residents to determine their expectations, priorities and objectives, an effort that included not only Odebrecht but the City of Cabo de Santo Agostinho and the International Trade Center (ITC), a UN technical cooperation agency, SEBRAE (the Brazilian Support Service for Small Businesses), the Suape company and nearby communities. The next step was a letter of intent signed by the ITC and public and private institutions to “promote sustainable tourism and inclusive trade” in that region.
The following move was to take concrete steps to create sources of employment and income for the local communities. For example, the project has started a nursery that has grown 102,000 seedlings of 110 varieties of plants since 2009, mostly from the Atlantic Forest (such as Brazilwood) and associated ecosystems: restinga (such as the abajeru tree) and mangroves (sapodilla trees). They are being used in the reforestation and landscaping of the reserve and its surroundings, as well as being sold to make the nursery self-supporting. The man in charge of a team of 10 gardeners he trained himself, tree nursery specialist João Cândido Pereira guarantees: “We don’t even use mineral fertilizers, just vegetable soil, coconut fiber and cow manure.” His favorite tree is the sapodilla.
Another project aims to enable fishermen to go from extractive fishing to fish farming by installing net pens for cobia in the open sea to create jobs and income. An additional initiative that is also going well is the effort to recycle materials left over from the construction works. The Madeira de Lei (Hardwood) project supplies raw materials to carpentry workshops for children in the charge of the Foundation for Social-Educational Services (FUNASE).
The “Papéis da Vida” project encourages the use of cardboard, which apprentice artisans - mainly women - transform into mobiles, picture frames, pencil-holders, baskets and flowers that are now on sale at local fairs and markets. “People acquire skills and develop a sense of teamwork at the same time,” says biologist Ana Lúcia Leão, the sustainability leader at Reserva do Paiva.
“You don’t even feel the time go by,” says one of the apprentices, Lizete Vargas. “I didn’t think you could make so many beautiful things from cardboard,” says Maria José de Fátima da Silva Barros, a community leader at the Negras 11 quilombo (a former maroon settlement). Vera Lúcia da Silva Fernandes, a mother and grandmother, is not only skilled at making baskets out of cardboard but “contaged” her friend Sandra Maria da Silva, who is also excited about the project. The most enthusiastic participant of all is Maria de Lourdes Santos. “It turned my life around,” she says with shining eyes. “I found out that I like to create things. Now, when I see anything that’s been thrown away, I wonder what it could be good for.” And she concludes: “Once you learn the method, the sky’s the limit.”