Soil, hope, future, and autonomy—these are the threads, among many others, woven into the project Meu quintal maior do que o mundo: Mulheres que plantam semeando a vida—“My Garden, Greater Than the World: Women Who Plant, Sowing Life“, promoted by the Associação Madalena de Canossa in the peri-urban region of Imperatriz, in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.
This socially and ecologically significant project places women at its heart—women connected to the land, to the yearning for independence, and to the dream of a dignified future. It is made possible thanks to the support of key partners such as ISPN Brasil, Fundo ECOS, Suzano, and BNDES (the Brazilian Development Bank).
Maranhão: A Land Between Worlds
Located in northeastern Brazil, Maranhão is one of the country’s most captivating and complex states—a meeting point between the Amazon rainforest and the semi-arid Sertão. It is a land where breathtaking beauty coexists with profound social and economic challenges.
Maranhão is home to extraordinary natural wonders such as the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, a desert of white sand dunes interrupted by crystal-clear lagoons—utterly unique in the world. Much of the territory is covered by tropical forests, rivers, and savannahs, yet large areas remain rural and peri-urban, where communities live in hardship, constantly adapting to the overwhelming and untamed power of nature.
Women, Seeds, and Transformation
In this landscape, often marked by poverty, inequality, and scarcity, the project seeks to reclaim the symbolic and practical value of what the ancient Greeks called the peristyle—a courtyard: a private space that opens outward, bridging the human and the natural, the light and the shadow.
Meu quintal maior do que o mundo teaches women how to nurture and transform their home gardens—or the small plots of land around their homes—into fertile, life-giving spaces. Here, women learn and teach in turn—how to plant, harvest, and transform not only fruit and vegetables, but above all relationships, autonomy, and the sense of belonging that arises from shared purpose.
Each seed planted becomes an act of faith, a prophetic gesture: the quiet building of an alternative economy—more just, more rooted, more feminine. The “quintal”, or garden, becomes a vision of a new possible world: greener, fairer, more deeply human.
A Network That Nourishes
Thanks to the educational accompaniment of the Associação Madalena de Canossa and the support of its partner organizations, the project promotes agroecology, food security, and the valorisation of traditional knowledge. It stands as a tangible expression of integral development, fully aligned with the call for integral ecology made by Pope Francis in Laudato si’.
Here, women’s leadership becomes a wellspring of transformation, fostering not only economic empowerment but also spiritual and educational renewal. It is life itself that begins again—from the ground up.
