PPA Executive Secretariat joins the Guaraná de Maués Alliance for strategic planning exercise
September 23 to 25, a team from the PPA Executive Secretariat visited Maués, in the state of Amazonas, to develop a theory of change for the Guaraná de Maués Alliance (AGM). The event brought together 20 people, including local leaders, community members and residents, as well as AMBEV and IFAM representatives involved in the project. All attendees followed strict biosafety rules, including wearing face masks and washing their hands at regular intervals.
The AGM is an AMBEV initiative supported by USAID and the PPA, which improves people's quality of life in Maués and strengthens the guaraná value chain. The project includes working groups operating in different areas, such as sustainable production, tourism, education, and promotion of sociocultural initiatives.
The goal of the event was to move forward with the AGM's strategic planning process, including the development of a theory of change. This methodology identifies problems that need to be addressed and maps project actions to ensure they effectively achieve positive socioenvironmental impacts.
In addition, this visit to Maués was the first in a series of interactions between the PPA Executive Secretariat and the projects supported by the initiative. The idea is to create an environment that brings the PPA closer to local actors to establish an efficient method to monitor and measure socioenvironmental impact indicators.
“It was very important to come to Maués and meet all stakeholders. It has helped us to understand the impact of the project, and will enable us to contribute to their strategic planning for the coming years,” said Augusto Corrêa, PPA Executive Secretary.
“As a Sateré Mawé leader, it has been very important for me to take part in this process, and assist in developing the ideas that will enable us to achieve the improvements we want for our future. I am sure that I will leave this place with a new understanding of how to improve the quality of life of my community and our people,” said Josibias Alencar, a member of the Michiles island community and a Sateré Mawé leader.
”The idea behind the theory of change is that it will strengthen collaborative management, and boost project impacts over time. “The AGM proposes a more sustainable guaraná production in Maués. This can be achieved by connecting people, promoting discussions, and designing proposals that support this idea," explained Miriam Frota, agronomic manager at AMBEV. “AMBEV has a very strong connection with Maués and with guaraná, so we have an important role in developing this chain. We want to maintain and strengthen this through actions such as training producers and bringing them together. They should feel empowered and also financially supported to maintain the guaraná chain, which plays an important role in developing people and the community.”
The process is being conducted by TEWÁ, a specialized consultancy firm, and supported by IDESAM, the project implementer. After a period of analysis, the theory of change will be presented again to the Maués community for validation and discussion of the next steps.
