Women behind the lens: the female beekeepers who hold 'the keys to a better world'

Photographer Gabriela Portilho found inspiration in a trailblazing group of women who improved their own lives while caring for the environmentThis group of women are the first female beekeepers in their town. Their work began in 2018 after they arrived at the Ximenes settlement, in the municipality of Barreiros in Pernambuco state in north-eastern Brazil. They had been displaced from their homes because of the expansion of the Suape port area farther north.The new settlement provided by the government is surrounded by a huge sugar cane plantation. The soil is unproductive, and pesticides threaten the native bees. There are no paved roads, schools or health centres in the area. Housing is precarious and the area is often flooded by the river. Continue reading...