**PURAVIDAonline**

PURAVIDA

PURA VIDA is Portuguese for Pure Life. Life where there is clean, living water to be drunk and fresh air to breathe. Life that is sustainable and in harmony with the Earth. 

PURAVIDA is a Brazilian Registered NGO that functions as a network of people from diverse backgrounds who are united in their passion to explore sustainable ways of living, being, creating, working, learning and traveling. The NGO functions as a platform and a meeting point for discussion and networking and the sharing of ideas. On an organizational level PURAVIDA works more like a horizontal network rather than a conventional hierarchical structure. The NGO has seven board members all coordinators of various projects.

PURAVIDA PROJECTS

The NGO currently has three different projects which are all centered around the Fazenda Pura Vida in Bahia Brazil, of which the NGO has the stewardship.The Fazenda is a working cacao farm which is currently sold locally. The cacao and the income it brings is completely managed by the caretaker and the workers on the farm who organize themselves to harvest and sell the cacao, pay wages and buy whatever materials needed.

The SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PROJECT aims to improve the environmental and social conditions at the Fazenda Puravida and the surrounding community by implementing sustainable technology and practices. Based on the principles of Permaculture and using new innovative research in renewable energy, the project aims to work towards making the Fazenda an ecologically sustainable place. The project also aims towards the conservation of the precious biodiversity found in the region as well as encouraging planting of new trees and the cultivation of organic fruits and vegetables to help diversify the production and lessen the farms dependence on the volatile cacao market. The Sustainable Community Project is working closely with Blue Ventures, www.bvco.org.uk.

The ORGANIC FAIRTRADE CACAUPROJECT aims to improve the quality of the cacao and the lives of the cacao farmers at Fazenda Puravida and the surrounding area, by using sustainable and eco friendly farming methods. The project aims to help organize the workers in cooperatives where they would be taking the responsibility themselves for the management of the whole of the cacao production at the Fazenda. PURAVIDA will assist by providing contacts, information and training on sustainable farming methods and eco friendly ways of combating diseases affecting the cacao. PURAVIDA will also be a bridge between the Cooperative and the emergent ethical cacao market, in order to obtain a fair deal for the producers. The Organic Fairtrade Cacau project has a close working relationship with the NGO Kakawa, www.kakawagourmet.org

The BAREFOOT EDUCATION PROJECT is inspired by the highly successful social project Barefoot College in India and its alternative way of teaching and learning. The project aims to create a meeting place for the local community of all ages, volunteers and members of the PURAVIDA NGO, where skills and knowledge can be exchanged for the benefit of all. Through open workshops the most advanced and innovative technology and traditional knowledge is put on the same level, allowing everyone to have the opportunity to both teach and learn. The absence of teachers and diplomas would allow not only for endless possibilities and practical outcomes, but would also help local people restore the value and belief in their own traditional knowledge .Working together with the local school the project also aims to provide workshops for local children as an alternative way of learning. The project aims to work both to improve basic literacy and stimulating creativity through the use of various art forms such as music, dance, capoeira and educational theatre. A large emphasis is put on restoring the value of the traditional knowledge and art forms such as Capoeira and Makulele which are largely lost in the area.