The project aims to reinforce the production process, the agro-industrialization and the commercialization of the agroextractive goods produced by COOPEVIDA. This will all be locally and regionally done through the sustainable and solidarity development strategy of the CCAMA (Maranhão Agroextractive Cooperatives Center) network. The network?s objectives are to increase agro-ecological awareness, conserving the Cerrado biome in the state of Maranhão, increase gender and generation parity, income generation and to ameliorate work conditions.
Specific objectives:
? To build a fair trade marketing stand of the agro-extractive production in an important square in the municipality of São Raimundo das Mangabeiras;
? Capacity-building for leaders about marketing, and access to markets;
? To disseminate the experience of agro-ecological production and fair trade to other groups;
? To reinforce the cooperatives in São Raimundo das Mangabeiras.

The direct beneficiaries of the project are: the COOPEVIDA and four local communities of São Raimundo das Mangabeiras municipality. Indirectly the entire population of São Raimundo das Mangabeiras municipality should benefit from the fair trade center and the conservation of many Cerrado areas.

Cerrado threats in the region
The expansion of soy, sugar cane and coal production have been increasing land concentration and contributing to the extinction of many Cerrado species in Southern Maranhão state. Large scale agriculture contaminates waterways and soil through its defensives agrotoxins. In addition, agribusiness has deprived local people of many Cerrado areas which were the source of their livelihood.
In São Raimundo das Mangabeiras municipality, despite colossal environmental degradation caused by large monocultures, there is a State Park (Parque Estadual do Mirador) established in 1980 , which protects the Itapecuru River water spring.