Agrarian reform and Quilombola settlements in Brazil are those that have successfully occupied and won the right to work the land on which they now live. Geographic isolation and their ‘invisibility’ in public decision making, investment schemes and strongly centralised energy infrastructure projects means many are remote from the electricity grid. This is an experience of many rural communities where families burn wood for water heating and cooking, putting pressure on scarce resources, or rely on expensive and polluting petrol/diesel generators. These have implications for local health and indeed many families cannot afford to use these sources and go without. This puts stress on communities reliant on small scale agriculture for their socio-economic reproduction; pumping water for crop irrigation without electricity is impossible, leading to low yields and income. There is an interest among these settlements in producing or accessing alternative forms of energy that are more affordable and that can be sourced from locally available natural resources in order to improve energy security and, in turn, improve their own productive capacity.
Decentralised renewable energy production has the potential to contribute to addressing significant socio-environmental challenges facing agrarian reform and Quilombola settlements. The successful planning and implementation of such projects must take account of social, cultural, environmental and economic dynamics locally. This process requires a decentralised, democratised method of knowledge production that transgresses traditional academic, techno-scientific boundaries, is attentive to power differentials between the various actors involved and engages communities in democratising the planning, decision making and implementation of new energy technologies. This multidisciplinary research builds upon effective engagement with Brazilian partners over a three-year period to innovate and integrate local assessment for new energy forms. It aims to combine the assessment of energy demand and renewable energy potential, the study of environmental feasibility for introduced technologies and creative engagement to:
i) Assess potential local sources and sites for renewable energy production;
ii) Identify challenges regarding the quality, utilisation, governance of, and access to, local natural resources for renewable energy;
iii) Create strategies for renewable energy generation, work and economic benefit from this potential.
iv) Produce a new toolkit for integrated assessment of rural and urban spaces for renewable energy towards the standardised, locally engaged approach to installing and governing these projects.
The pilot research undertaken thus far has involved trialling 40 questionnaires, nine focus groups and four interviews with community leaders to gain a clear picture of three rural communities in Brazil. Initial results show that these communities have challenges regarding water, energy and organisational structure as well as support at governmental level. An aspiration towards renewable energy reflects aspirations of social and economic autonomy of the settlements. A lack of previous information on the possible technologies and the costs of purchase, however, are among factors prohibiting take up at this stage. Furthermore, immediate concerns over water availability and quality across the settlements and the impact on produce outlines the importance of addressing energy challenges alongside community priorities.
Keywords: renewable energy, rural communities, sustainability, energy autonomy, agrarian reform
0b Indigenous, afro, and rural communities involvement with sustainability
