Oi!

This November I had the pleasure of joining our NAMA team in Brasilia, Brazil to attend the World Forum of Fisher Peoples 8th General Assembly. This gathering happens every three years in a different part of the world, bringing together fishers from many countries to discuss our shared struggle and make collective plans for our joint fight! We were warmly welcomed by our counterparts in Brazil, the Movimento de Pescadores e Pescadoras Artesanais do Brazil (the Movement of Artisanal Fishermen and Fisherwomen of Brazil), and took part in conversations that both advance our work and deepen our relationships. Our U.S. delegation included Jason Jarvis, Black fisherman from Rhode Island, Melanie Brown, Indigenous fisherwoman from Alaska, Feini Yin, our communications director, and myself, NAMA’s international liaison with the World Forum of Fisher Peoples. 

One proud moment for me was coordinating the Indigenous People’s Assembly, which was a subgroup within the General Assembly. This took a lot of work and commitment from everyone involved, prior to our arrivals to Brazil, and once we were there. We were a small yet powerful group including Indigenous fishers from Kenya, Panama, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. We wrote a declaration bringing together the intercontinental demands of the Indigenous fishers present, and inspired by the concerns pronounced by Indigenous people in other international forums like Nyéléni and La Via Campesina. I loved the way this group brought together issues between land and water, denouncing the separation of the two, which allows for policy that pretends like land-based systems don’t impact water-based systems, and vice versa. I loved how everyone put careful detail to every word in our joint declaration, making it such a strong guiding document. I loved how we made space to hear one another and make sure that everyone was coming along together. 

After the General Assembly, we decided as a group to pursue a campaign where we move forward the implementation of the Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines. This is a document that was pushed for by folks that were part of this Indigenous Peoples Assembly and has already been ratified by 100 countries. If you haven’t read this document I highly recommend it, as it will likely be what guides us at a global level to transition into a fishing industry that prioritizes small-scale fishers over a large-scale fishing industry. This will be the battle cry of the Indigenous Peoples Assembly, please join in!

I am beyond grateful because after the General Assembly I traveled around Brazil through the New Year! I grew up in Ecuador and recently underwent a big surgery so I felt a deep desire within me to take this opportunity to spend a little more time in the continent that birthed me and reconnect with my Latin American roots. I was struck by how different Brazilian culture is from any other Latin American culture I’ve experienced and appreciated this, remembering that our differences are what makes us stronger, resilient, and beautiful. I experienced a lot of care and love while I was there as a foreigner trying to get better at Portuguese and learn as much as I could about the culture. I left with many new friends and a lot of inspiration for how to keep growing community here in the U.S. through music and education. One of the places I visited that remains special to me is the Escuelita Nacional Paulo Freire (the National Paulo Freire School) in São Paulo. I had met folks with Levante Movimento Popular da Juventude, who manage the school, a few years back when collaborating on a different campaign. When I told them I was coming to Brazil they invited me to participate in some celebrations at the end of November. I stayed in their dorms for a little while and was in awe of the work being done there to support many community kitchens, literacy programs for kids and adults, childcare services for working families, artistic programs for youth, campaigns for food sovereignty, mutual aid, and so much more. This school builds on the legacy of Paulo Freire, who is an internationally renowned popular educator and wrote some of the most important books in education like “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” In his time, Freire’s teachings were so inclusive that the current government felt threatened, so much so that he was imprisoned for treason. Yet today, he continues to influence the culture of grassroots movements all over the world.

As we face 2025 together, what I am keeping front and centered is that work at the community level will always prevail. Sometimes it can feel like change will never happen, but if our relationships to one another are strong, then we become strong, especially in the face of adversity. I am looking forward to a year where we will become stronger as our challenges grow bolder. And I will bring the warm sun from my motherland wherever I go. 

Un abrazo muy fuerte, 

Estefania

In This Issue
A Winter Recipe for You
Welcome, Angelica and Bronson
Farewell, Casey
Policy Updates
NAMA on the Road
Updates from our Network