Oportunidade & Dignidade

Two years ago, Veja met Villaget, a Brazilian NGO working to promote social justice. The association helps young people of a poor neighbourhood in Porto Alegre, South Brazil, to get work opportunities.




Instead of spending idle time in the streets, the young people get a free professional training in shoes creation. They go at school in the morning and in the afternoon they learn how to make shoes. The olders teach the youngers basis of design, shoe modeling and confection.

Veja has been impressed by the energy of the local team and decided to develop a concrete project with them.



The young people of the association have designed baby sneakers in organic cotton for Veja. They are now in charge of the confection of the small baby shoes.

Veja BêBê sneakers are distributed in child stores in Europe.

Good luck to the Villaget "guris" (boys) !

Organic Cotton Growers, Nordeste, Brazil

We work with a cooperative of small producers of organic cotton in a dry and poor area in Brazil, the "Nordeste".




Almost 100 families have adopted the agroecological system proposed by ESPLAR,a local NGO.

To reach sustainability and self sufficiency the producers don’t grow only cotton but also maize, beans, sesame, and legumes for their own consumption.




Producers cut back on chemical pesticides and manure. Organic farming is a way for them to get independency from the agrochemical companies and to stop the vicious cycle of debt.




Benefits of the organic growing have quickly been noticed on the family producers health.




SAVE THE NEEM TREE



Cotton growers have adopted natural practices to replace agrochemicals.
The Neem is an Asian tree they have planted in the cotton fields. Producers use Neem leaf extract as a natural repellent.