Curator
— Laura Miller, Applied ethicist and instructor, Southwestern Illinois College, St. Louis Community College, Fontbonne University, and Webster University
A Tribute to Dona Dijé
* New title added January 2023 *
If Not Us Then Who? Film 7 of 7
A leader of the Babassu movement reflects on the central place of the babassu industry in the protection of women, culture, the forests, and the Amazon as a whole.

If Not Us Then Who? Film 7: (4:10) 2019
A Tribute to Dona Dijé a leader of the Free Babassu movement
This is one of seven short films about sustainable living in the forests of Indonesia, Costa Rica and Brazil. Taken together, they tell a story of oppression, resistance, accomplishments, and confidence for the future.
Please download the teacher's guide for maps, background information, suggested subjects, questions and activities.
Synopsis
"Do not fall, arise."
Dona Dijé was an organizer in the babassu movement. In this interview she reflects on the central place of the babassu industry in the protection of women, culture, the forests, and the Amazon as a whole.
This is one of seven short films about sustainable living in the forests of Indonesia, Costa Rica and Brazil. Taken together, they tell a story of oppression, resistance, accomplishments, and confidence for the future.
00:00:07.140 --> 00:00:13.560
I live in a community in the state
of Maranhão, in the countryside.
00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:20.740
To me, it means part of my story.
00:00:26.860 --> 00:00:31.100
It should be free, wherever
there is babassu it should be free.
00:00:32.160 --> 00:00:37.000
Because we understand that
babassu is a work of nature.
00:00:38.360 --> 00:00:43.520
Nobody planted, no one watered
yet nature gives to us for free.
00:00:52.040 --> 00:01:03.100
The coconut for me means a currency
which we exchange so we can buy
00:01:03.220 --> 00:01:08.640
our things, from food to clothes, shoes,
everything.
00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:18.820
We roast the coconut to make oil.
00:01:19.580 --> 00:01:22.060
We sell to get money.
00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:33.940
And the oil once it's done serves for
both food, cooking and cosmetics.
00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:52.040
Now they are trapped on land
which is privately owned
00:01:53.300 --> 00:02:00.700
and the land owner, the farmer has a fence,
a gate and a lock barring my entry.
00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:08.120
We don’t want to fill the
outskirts of the cities.
00:02:08.975 --> 00:02:11.755
We don't want to change
our way of life.
00:02:14.220 --> 00:02:16.660
This is the law of survival.
00:02:16.660 --> 00:02:21.140
I have to fight to live.
I have to fight to eat.
00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:31.940
The women formed their own movement founding the
‘Free Babassu Law’ in seven Brazilian states.
The law gives landless coconut gatherers rights
to collect from all palm groves.
00:02:33.380 --> 00:02:38.460
They continue to protect the lives
and livelihoods of thousands of women
who work in the countryside
00:02:39.600 --> 00:02:45.820
The free coconut is where I can come
and go without anyone to stop me.
00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:52.100
I can leave my house, go into the land
which is close to my community.
00:02:52.100 --> 00:02:57.160
If there is babassu, I can come and pick it up
and another woman can come and pick it up.
00:02:57.160 --> 00:03:02.420
Any woman can come and pick it up
without hindrance.
00:03:02.420 --> 00:03:05.420
This is free access.
00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:15.380
They would enter the communities
and ask 'Where's the boss?’
00:03:16.660 --> 00:03:19.500
And we'd say, "There is no 'boss'...
I'm the boss."
00:03:23.480 --> 00:03:37.800
I have a hope that if we can preserve what we have left today then our children will have a bright future.
00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:46.160
It's a community of people
who work in the fields breaking coconuts
00:03:46.160 --> 00:03:51.160
fishing, dancing, leaping,
who play and are doing a lot of things.
00:03:51.200 --> 00:03:57.120
And that preserves our ancestors,
which we believe is a force
00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:01.440
that helps us
and holds our hands to say:
00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.640
"Do not fall. Arise. “
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Citation
Main credits
Redman, Paul (film director)
Redman, Paul (director of photography)
Redman, Paul (editor of moving image work)
Lewis, Tim (film producer)
Dij©, Dona (on-screen participant)
Distributor credits
Tim Lewis
Paul Redman
Docuseek subjects
Citizenship, Social Movements and Activism
Rural Studies
Agribusiness
Women's Studies
Women's History
Latin American History
Latin American Studies
Cultural Anthropology
Environmental Anthropology
Government Policy
Forests and Rainforests
Conflict Resolution
Distributor subjects
No distributor subjects provided.Keywords
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