João Joaquim de Melo Neto Segundo

In: UA Magazine 7 - Economic Aspects of Urban Agriculture

Conjunto Palmeira is a slum with 30,000 inhabitants, situated in the southern area of Fortaleza-Cearà, a metropolis located in the northeast of Brazil. The first inhabitants arrived here in 1973 and started building their houses spontaneously, without access to purified water, electric power, schools or other public services. In 1981, the Association of Settlers of the Conjunto Palmeira (ASMOCONP) was founded, starting the process of organisation of the families. Banco Palmas has opened a small line of credit for urban agriculture, which is described here.