Maria Geane Magalhães Bastos is a daughter of agroecological farmers hailing from one of the largest quilombola (maroon) communities of Brazil, the Quilombo Lagoas, located at the Queimada da Onça community, at the municipality of São Lourenço do Piauí in Brazil. She is an Agricultural and Beekeeping Technician, in addition to holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and currently pursuing an addition degree in English Studies. Her studies focused on the Pedagogy of Alternation (Pedagogia da Alternância) having finished her Technical Course in Agriculture in 2012. She has ample professional experience in different fields, from agroecological management to rural education. In 2019, she decided to work with her brother on our lands thinking about the importance of agroecology and the restoration of degraded areas on our property, with the goal of being an inspiration for their community, raising awareness on sustainable farming, and training more people from Quilombo communities in the management and restoration of lands with agroforestry systems.
