One of the lessons that we can take from our history up until now, is that it is not enough to struggle only for land. The struggle for land reform is much broader, and implies the attainment of all the social rights that comprise what one call full citizenship. And education is

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one of these rights, but one that also requires mobilization, organization and struggle in Brazil.

For us, education includes the participation of everyone from children, women, youth and the elderly, constructing new relations and consciousness, and includes participation in marches, assemblies, courses, walks, volunteer work, acts of solidarity, occupations, mobilizations, coming together to learn and teach reading and writing, and more than this, to read and write reality of life.

Learning political economy at the ITERRA institute

Today, we are a constellation of 1,000 schools of first to fourth grade and 50 schools of fifth to eigth grade, with 95,000 children and adolescents attending school en encampments and settlements. Despite this, the number of children and adolescents out of school is growing, either because the schools are not legally recognized or because the proposed curriculum, adapted to the necessities of the children of rural workers, is not respected. Working directly with these schools are close to 2,800 teachers.

We are also nearly 850 teachers of reading and writing for youths and adults. Currently, there are close to 17,000 students learning to read. Some teachers work as volunteers, others are mobilized for the projects in partnership.

Another great achievement for the children of the encampments of Rio Grande de Sul is the Intinerant School, which teaches children from 7 to 12 years of age, or from first to fifth grades. This school goes wherever there are encampments.