Daniela Calza: COPAVI PROJECT

Meet Daniela Calza!

Dani is 28 years old, the mother of Pietra (monstrinha!), and companheira to Alan in COPAVI.  She grew up here, her family was one of the first to join the community. Dani graduated from the Latin American School of Agroecology, a university that is the product of a partnership with the Federal Institute of PR, and La Via Campesina.  Currently, she is part of an effort to develop organic dairy production in the community--which is not an easy task at all.  To qualify as "organic" the cows cannot consume GMOs.  Finding supplies of non-genetically modified soy and corn, to supplement their free-range pasture diets is not an easy task.  Thus, we have a problem--diversified smallholders don't have enough land to produce sufficient pastures, yet. This is Dani's mission, she wants to make this happen in three years.  If so, prices for their milk will be much higher.

Yet, the stringent standards lead me to ask... Why is it that production under relatively exploitation-free (i.e., cooperative) conditions, and happy cows is not "enough" to demand higher prices?  As a consumer, I think it is totally acceptable to consume milk from cows that took mastitis medications, for example, if the cows have good lives, if their hooves touch grass.

Anyways, Dani took photos of her little one, Pietra, the community, and shared some images from her personal photo album.  She also took the time to write responses to some of the questions guiding the project.

1) What is the significance of love for you?
For me, love is to want good things.  I love my family, nature, my community, humanity, agriculture, and my land/planet/earth.  This is reflected in our history of struggle for land, for agroecology, a struggle to be better, a struggle for love.

2) What is the significance of friendship for you?
My family, my friends at COPAVI, my girlfriends in Paranacity, and many other places in Brazil and in the world--Argentina!  There are some that I won't ever see again, others that I meet from time to time, but we are always united in our work.

3) Where do you work in COPAVI?
I am part of the sector of family subsistence and the dairy.  I like this work because we take care of our families needs, and create clean, healthy, and agroecological foods [without pesticides].

4) What do you like about living in the assentamento?
I love living in COPAVI, my community is UNIQUE, IT IS SPECIAL. We have struggled, we have conquered, and it is collectively organized and beautiful!

5) What is the importance of living in the roça?
The roça is my life.  I am 28 years old, and I've been in the roça since I was born.  I like my house, my garden, my office...

6) What do you think about the city, what do when you go to town?
I think cities are unsustainable--they distort the relation between humans and nature.  I only go to town when I have to buy something, sometimes to go out to eat (pizza or a snack), or to see friends and my mother-in-law.  Sometimes I go to the fair...

7) What is the significance of the MST and the struggle for land, for you personally?
I am very connected to the land, and I was born in the MST in the struggle as well.  This is a struggle for justice, and the most organized social movement that exists.

8) What are your dreams for the future?
At this time, I don't have a lot of certainty, but I do want to have more conquests (individual and collective) together with my family, I want to continue to study, work as an agroeco expert, and stay in the roça, especially at COPAVI.