Bruno Ramos, 38, an environmental licensing analyst at CPFL Renováveis, tells about his experience of having lived for two years in the municipality of São Miguel do Gostoso, in Rio Grande do Norte Stated, and participated in social projects that benefit the communities close to the Gameleira Wind Complex.

“The Gameleira Complex is made up of four wind farms, substations, transmission lines, a large complexity of infrastructures that need licenses from environmental agencies to be built and operate. A project of this size transforms people's lives. Gameleira is located in the city of Touros, next to São Miguel do Gostoso and with a very large rural population.

CPFL Renováveis incorporated this practice of installing a Social Communication Center from the initial phase of the project. This is not a legal requirement, but we realized that having this structure in place helps to establish a closer and more trusting relationship with the communities. It makes it easier for the population to ask questions, leave resumes or make some kind of request and, based on that, we are able to develop social actions specific for that region.

It was an incredible life experience. We managed to take a project there called Carreta Literária, promoted by Instituto CPFL. We arrived with a trailer and set up an itinerant library, with benches, tables, and a reading space for the children. A storyteller read to the children – and many of them were not yet literate. But we used to say: 'take the book, smell the book, look at the pictures'. It was like opening a new world for those children, because there is no such attractive library in the city.

And the collection that Instituto CPFL put together was also excellent, because it connects literature with local reality. One of the books we read, 'The Three Little Pigs of the Agreste', was very successful. At times, even I became a storyteller.

Another project that impressed me was the construction of a square with waste from the construction works, in response to a request from the local population. In front of a school in a quilombola community. Together with the project's suppliers, we built the furniture and took it to the square, creating a unique place for children and adults alike.

We made partnerships for professional projects, but the pandemic made everything more difficult. There was no way to set up classes in classrooms, because of the risk of contamination, so the courses were shorter and with fewer people. And all connected to the local reality. One of the courses focused on agricultural training and land management, which resulted in improvements in crops and production, such as pineapple, banana, melon and potato. We benefitted small farmers, who already had a lot of experience in working the land, and evolved with technical support to make better use of inputs, financial management and avoid waste, even learning how to make candy with unsold fruit.

We left a legacy for the population of Touros. We would have liked to have done much more, but the pandemic made some projects unfeasible. Even so, it was very enriching, both for me and for the new friends from Touros we left there. It may seem little for someone who lives in a city like São Paulo or Campinas, but it is very transformer for that social context.”