The OTSS Social Technology Incubator has been working with traditional Caiçara, Quilombola and indigenous communities in the Bocaina region since 2016, supporting actions related to the sustainable management of the juçara palm, an endangered species from the Atlantic Forest. These initiatives are aimed at supporting the community in managing and organizing its production, harvesting, processing, use and marketing of juçara palm products ( Euterpes eduliis ), in addition to maintaining the sociobiodiversity of the territories.

Agroforestry systems are practices used by traditional communities that combine agricultural crops and/or animals with forest species in the same area. These systems promote agrobiodiversity, environmental conservation, environmental health, food security and income generation. Each crop or species is planted taking into account its ecological needs, resulting in an environment that meets the demands for nutrients, water, light and space. Agroforestry systems are not only management techniques, but also agroecological practices that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, soils and waters in tropical regions.

Mutirões represent a social technology based on collective and solidarity work, where members of a community come together to carry out activities of common interest. This model of cooperation is widely used in traditional communities, especially in contexts of agriculture, construction and maintenance of infrastructure. By pooling collective efforts, mutirões ensure the availability of the workforce needed to carry out tasks that would be difficult to perform individually, strengthening social ties and promoting community cohesion.

Seed houses are essential spaces for the conservation of agrobiodiversity, as well as for ensuring food and nutritional security and sovereignty. In addition, they play a crucial role in strengthening the maintenance, socialization and reproduction of knowledge and ways of life of traditional communities. These spaces not only preserve the genetic diversity of cultivated plants, but also promote the exchange of knowledge and cultural practices, ensuring the continuity of agricultural traditions and the resilience of communities in the face of environmental and socioeconomic challenges.

The commercialization of agroecological production in short circuits strengthens local agrobiodiversity and guarantees greater access to income for producers, eliminating middlemen. This promotes sustainability and democratizes the distribution cycle, contributing to food and nutritional security and sovereignty, in addition to improving environmental health and generating employment and income.

Nurseries play a crucial role in ensuring the maintenance and reproduction of agrobiodiversity in traditional communities. They strengthen environmental health, promote food and nutritional security and sovereignty, and create opportunities for income and employment generation. In addition, nurseries contribute to the preservation of native species and the recovery of degraded ecosystems, integrating sustainable practices that value traditional knowledge and local biodiversity.

The exchanges carried out by Fiocruz and FCT through the OTSS are training meetings based on the ecology of knowledge, which aim to articulate, qualify and reapply the experiences existing in traditional territories. These meetings promote the exchange of experiences between community members and non-community members and the integration of the experiences offered by each community. At the end of each exchange, a common agenda is agreed upon, with a collaborative implementation plan.

The processing and agro-industrialization of agroecological production offer multiple benefits to traditional communities, including the development of food storage and preservation technologies, ensuring food and nutritional security and sovereignty. These practices promote the maintenance and reproduction of agrobiodiversity, preserving the genetic and cultural heritage of communities, in addition to contributing to environmental health. Additionally, they create new economic opportunities, generating income and jobs, and strengthening the local economy.

Agroforestry systems promote agrobiodiversity, environmental conservation, environmental health, food security and income generation. More than management techniques, they are agroecological practices that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, soils and waters in tropical regions. Agroforestry gardens, found in traditional communities that face restrictions on land use, are established in family backyards and in shared backyards. Mostly managed by women due to their proximity to homes, these gardens strengthen the visibility and recognition of women's work, highlighting its importance in sustainability and the local economy.

The Cooperation and Participatory Structuring of Local Arrangements for the Production of Artisanal Fish in Traditional Communities aims to promote the sustainable productive development of traditional fishing communities through the establishment of institutional and community partnerships. This approach involves the creation of cooperation networks that include government agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutions and the fishing communities themselves. The objective is to strengthen the productive and organizational capacity of these communities, ensuring the environmental, economic and social sustainability of artisanal fishing activities.

Flour mills are community, family or private spaces dedicated to food processing, playing a fundamental role in maintaining food and nutritional security and sovereignty in traditional communities. In addition to their productive function, these spaces are centers of socialization and social reproduction, where the culture, knowledge and ways of life of communities are preserved and transmitted from generation to generation. Flour mills not only guarantee food subsistence, but also strengthen community ties and cultural identity, being essential for the sustainability and resilience of traditional communities.

Artisanal fishing method using floating netting gear, consisting of a fish capture technology that confines fish that live in schools and have migratory habits, so that they remain alive inside the nets, allowing the selection of individuals to be collected. The action by Fiocruz and FCT aims to guarantee legal security to artisanal fishermen who use this technology through the exchange of experiences and support for the participatory construction of a legal system that recognizes the practice traditionally carried out.

The participatory development of processing units that are appropriate for local community production is essential to add value to socio-biodiversity products and ensure food sovereignty and security. This process involves the active collaboration of communities in the design, implementation and management of these units, ensuring that they meet specific needs and respect local traditional knowledge. The creation of these units not only enhances the quality and value of products, but also strengthens the local economy, promotes environmental and cultural sustainability, and ensures that communities maintain control over their resources and ways of life.

Territorialized agroecological plans are diagnostic, planning, and monitoring tools for actions related to agroecological practices and other associated activities, and are developed by communities with the support of the OTSS. The Social Technology Incubator is inspired by the LUME method for developing the plans, which is used for economic and ecological analysis of agroecosystems. The method was developed by social organizations and public policy executors in the field of agroecology and is mainly used in family farming units that are in the process of transitioning to agroecology. Its use among traditional communities highlights potentialities as well as limitations, given the particularities present in the agroecosystem management practices commonly carried out in these communities.

Artisanal fishing method using floating netting equipment, consisting of a fish capture technology that confines fish that live in schools and have migratory habits, so that they remain alive inside the nets, allowing the selection of individuals to be collected.

The action by Fiocruz and FCT aims to guarantee legal security to artisanal fishermen who use this technology through exchanges of experiences and support for the participatory construction of a legal system that recognizes the practice traditionally carried out.