Duas pescadoras que lideram suas comunidades entre as heroínas da FAO: a história em inglês, no seu nível
Luena Pataxó (BA) e Joana Mousinho (PE), líderes da pesca artesanal, estão entre as 100 mulheres homenageadas pela FAO, que recebeu mais de 600 indicações. Leia a história em inglês, no seu nível.
World, meet Brazil · Edição #2
Boas notícias de brasileiros fazendo história, em inglês e no seu nível.
04 NEGÓCIOS · PESCA ARTESANAL → HEROÍNAS DA FAO
Escolha o seu nível:
Básico · A2 Frases curtas e palavras do dia a dia
Two Brazilian fisherwomen and their communities
Luena Pataxó and Joana Mousinho are Brazilian fisherwomen. They work in artisanal fishing: small-scale, traditional fishing.
The FAO is a United Nations organization for food and agriculture. It chose 100 women from many countries as heroes. Luena and Joana are on the list.
Luena is 44 and Indigenous, from the Pataxó people in Bahia. She leads an association of Indigenous fishers. She won third place in a national business award for women.
Joana is 70, from Itapissuma, Pernambuco. She has fished for more than 60 years. She was the first woman to lead a fishers' colony, a local organization.
More than 600 women were nominated. Joana said her community was very happy and grateful.
Palavras para guardar
| fisherwoman / fisherwomen | pescadora / pescadoras |
| small-scale | em pequena escala |
| to choose / chose | escolher / escolheu |
| to lead | liderar |
| award | prêmio |
| to be nominated / were nominated | ser indicado / foram indicadas |
| grateful | agradecido(a) |
Your turn
Who is your local hero? Complete the sentence: "______ is my hero because ______."
Quem é o herói ou a heroína da sua cidade?
Intermediário · B1/B2 Mais detalhes, como numa matéria de jornal
Two Brazilian fisherwomen named among the FAO's 100 women heroes
Two Brazilian artisanal fishing leaders have been named among the 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems and Rural Development, chosen by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO received more than 600 nominations from over 131 countries. Brazil's Ministry of Women nominated both fisherwomen.
Luena Maria Ferreira dos Santos, known as Luena Pataxó, is a 44-year-old Indigenous leader from Bahia and president of the Pataxó Indigenous Fishers' Association (Apip), which helps generate income for fishing families, especially through shrimp fishing. She chairs a committee of eight municipalities and 13 associations. In the Sebrae Women in Business award, she won first place in the state stage and third nationally.
Joana Rodrigues Mousinho, 70, has fished for more than 60 years in Itapissuma, Pernambuco. She was the first woman to preside over a fishers' colony and co-founded a national network of fisherwomen.
According to the FAO, women make up 41% of the global agrifood workforce. Luena described fishers as guardians of the environment; Joana said her community was very happy and grateful.
Palavras para guardar
| to be named | ser escolhido, ser incluído em uma lista |
| nomination | indicação |
| income | renda |
| to chair | presidir |
| stage | etapa |
| to co-found | fundar junto com outras pessoas |
| workforce | força de trabalho |
Your turn
Think of a local business or association in your city. In three or four sentences, describe what it does and how it helps people.
Pense em um negócio ou associação local da sua cidade. Em três ou quatro frases, descreva o que ele faz e como ajuda as pessoas.
Avançado · C1 O texto completo, com expressões e contexto
Leading from the water: two fisherwomen among the FAO's heroes
Artisanal fishing is rarely discussed as a business, yet it generates income for families and depends on people willing to organize it. Two Brazilian women who do exactly that are among the 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems and Rural Development, chosen by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from more than 600 nominations.
Luena Pataxó, 44, worked as a fisherwoman until she was widowed; then she left the boat and turned to gathering shrimp. Today she heads the Pataxó Indigenous Fishers' Association (Apip) in Coroa Vermelha, Bahia, whose initiatives generate income for local families and improve safety at sea. She also chairs a committee that brings together eight municipalities and 13 associations.
Her leadership has been recognized on the business front, too: in the rural producer category of the Sebrae Women in Business award, she took first place in Bahia and third nationally.
Joana Rodrigues Mousinho, 70, has spent more than six decades fishing in the Canal de Santa Cruz, in Itapissuma, Pernambuco. She became the first woman to preside over a fishers' colony and co-founded a national network of fisherwomen. In 2024, Brazil's Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture gave her the Mulheres das Águas award.
The timing is telling. According to the FAO, women make up 41% of the global agrifood workforce. Luena put it plainly: in her view, there is no talking about food and production without talking about water and artisanal fishing.
Neither woman waited for a title before taking the lead; both built influence by bringing people together. Language works similarly: fluency grows less from studying alone than from joining the conversation.
Palavras para guardar
| to be widowed | ficar viúvo(a) |
| to turn to | passar a se dedicar a |
| to head | chefiar, presidir |
| to bring together | reunir |
| on the business front | no campo dos negócios |
| telling | revelador, significativo |
| to put it plainly | dizer sem rodeios |
| to take the lead | tomar a iniciativa, assumir a liderança |
| fluency | fluência |
Your turn
Both women became leaders by organizing their communities. Can leadership be taught, or is it learned only by doing? Argue your view with an example.
Liderança pode ser ensinada ou só se aprende fazendo? Defenda sua opinião com um exemplo.
Fontes
- Agência Gov: ONU elege duas brasileiras como heroínas do desenvolvimento agroalimentar (15/10/2026)
- Agência Brasil: Pescadoras brasileiras recebem título de heróinas em premiação da FAO (18/10/2026)
As falas de Joana Mousinho e Luena Pataxó foram adaptadas em discurso indireto a partir das reportagens da Agência Gov e da Agência Brasil (a fala sobre alimentos, águas e pesca artesanal é da Agência Brasil).
Do ler ao falar
Quer conversar sobre isso em inglês, e não só ler?
Na imersão do The Fools vale o pacto do idioma: do começo ao fim, ninguém fala português. Escolha no calendário a data e o lugar da sua próxima história em inglês.
Ver o calendárioMais da edição #2: Alunas de 14 anos de Recife vencem o HackaNAV 2026 com ferramenta contra a desinformação · Recifense Rafael Câmara, de 21 anos, é anunciado pela Haas e estreia na Fórmula 1 em 2027 · Vacina brasileira contra a malária vivax recebe aval da Anvisa para testes em humanos · A Margem do Rio, filme passado nos mangues do Recife, leva cinco prêmios no Festival do Rio
