EN language
  • PT
  • ES
Placeholder

The water of life

Mrs. Rosineide arrived 14 years ago in the São Pedro Settlement and her house is close to a spring that was already drying up and will supply water again with the arrival of the PRAS.

It was due to lack of information that farmer Rosineide dos Santos Rocha was slowly witnessing the death of a real gold mine on her plot of land in the Nova União community: a water spring. But that was before the arrival of one of PRASP's most important actions - the recovery of springs. The São Pedro Settlement has more than 600 of them, and 124 were chosen for priority revitalization because they are on the verge of extinction. Among them is the one behind two imposing buriti feet less than 50 steps from Rosineide's house.
“I arrived here 14 years ago and this area was already deforested. I watched the spring dwindle day by day. But I was unable to recover. The arrival of the project helped me, my family, and the entire community a lot. It's a very precious thing. This spring brings water to my house and to the riverbed, helping other families and nature,” says Rosineide, who has six children and five grandchildren. The source behind Buritis's feet is actually a basin with several eyes that mine water all year round, and come together to form a stream that flows into the Paranaíta River, which in turn flows into the Teles Pires River. That is why it is considered a symbol of PRASP's work in recovering these water sources.
The first step in recovering a spring is to surround the area to prevent animals from entering. Then, the soil is prepared for the planting of fruit and forest seedlings - all native to the region and coming from the nursery of the settlement itself. “As this spring is on a descent, the objective is to plant these species around it to protect it from inputs that could slide down the slope and cause it to silt up,” explains forestry engineer Samara de Souza. In a few months' time, when the water season ends, it is likely that the Rosineide spring will be surrounded by other species that keep company with the buriti feet.