As part of the efforts to coordinate and empower women in the Amazon, the “A Soma dos Quintais das Mulheres da Amazônia” gathering took place last weekend. This initiative, coordinated by the Amazonian Service for Action, Reflection, and Socio-Environmental Education (SARES), aims to strengthen women’s leadership and create spaces for care, exchange, and collective organization.
Representing the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) was Sister Sônia Pinho de Matos, the organization’s vice president for the 2026–2030 term, who participated in this space for dialogue and reflection alongside women from different Amazonian territories and backgrounds.
Every woman carries a “quintal” with her
The “Soma dos Quintais” initiative draws on an image deeply rooted in Amazonian life: every woman carries a quintal with her—understood as a space of life, memory, knowledge, affection, plants, stories, and practices of care and resistance.
When these “quintais” come together, recognize one another, and connect, they combine to form a collective force.
From this perspective, the gathering sought to value the experiences and knowledge that women build daily in their communities and territories, recognizing their fundamental contribution to the defense of life and the creation of alternatives in the face of the Amazon’s social and environmental challenges.
Care, Knowledge, and Leadership
One of the central pillars of the initiative is understanding self-care and collective care as essential dimensions for the sustainability of women’s organizational and advocacy processes.
The gathering created spaces to share experiences, strengthen bonds, and recognize the traditional and folk knowledge that forms part of the identity of Amazonian peoples.
The initiative brings together women from diverse backgrounds—Indigenous, riverine, Black, peripheral, and urban—fostering intercultural dialogue and recognition of the diversity that characterizes the Amazon.
This diversity is not viewed as a barrier, but rather as a source of richness that broadens perspectives and enables the development of collective responses to the situations affecting women and their territories.
Defending Bodies, Territories, and Life
Another aspect addressed was the need to strengthen collective strategies for the defense of bodies, territories, rights, and life.
Amazonian women play a fundamental role in defending their communities and protecting our Common Home. Their daily experiences enable them to identify, in concrete terms, the impacts of social inequalities, violence, environmental threats, and the various forms of rights violations affecting their territories.
In light of these realities, the initiative seeks to strengthen women’s capacity for organization and advocacy by promoting their participation in decision-making and policy-making forums, as well as actions aimed at promoting socio-environmental justice.
A Spirituality Linked to Our Common Home
The spiritual dimension also plays an important role in the initiative. The gathering promotes an ecological spirituality that recognizes the interdependence among individuals, peoples, and nature.
This perspective resonates with the path the Church in the Amazon has been following, grounded in a commitment to integral ecology and to accompanying the peoples who inhabit and protect these territories.
In this sense, the participation of Sister Sônia Pinho de Matos represents an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the organizational experiences of Amazonian women and the journey of a Church that seeks to listen to, accompany, and recognize the leading role of women in building a more just and sustainable Amazon.
Adding Up the “Quintals” to Transform Reality
“A Soma dos Quintais” ultimately proposes moving from gathering to action. Collaboration among women allows for the sharing of tools, the identification of common challenges, and the development of strategies to collectively respond to the realities facing these territories.
For CEAMA, accompanying these processes means recognizing that women are fundamental protagonists of Amazonian life and of the social, cultural, pastoral, and environmental transformation processes unfolding in the region.
This experience reaffirms the importance of continuing to build networks of listening, care, education, and advocacy—where every woman can contribute her story and her knowledge while, at the same time, finding strength in her fellow women to carry on.
Because when the different “quintales” come together, knowledge multiplies, care is strengthened, and hope becomes collective action for life and for our Common Home.
