Community Agency in Action: What It Really Means for the Go Balance Trocano Project
How Community-led Solutions are Shaping the Future of REDD+ in Borba, Amazonas
Introduction by Ciaran Kelly, CEO of Go Balance
I’ve been fortunate to spend a great deal of time in Borba over the years, visiting the communities within the Go Balance Trocano Project area and seeing first-hand how this work is lived, not just implemented. I’ve met with families, attended workshops and listened to community leaders describe their priorities for the future. Each time, I’ve been struck by how welcoming and supportive of the project the people are — and how deeply they care about their land and their future. Those experiences have influenced my perspective on our work at Go Balance — and they’ve also shaped how I understand the purpose of climate action itself.
We often talk about REDD+ in terms of carbon, biodiversity, or forest cover — and those things absolutely matter. But what gives this project real meaning is the human dimension. The relationships, the trust, and the local leadership that quietly drives it forward every day.
When I first came across the term community agency, it struck a chord. It gave a name to something we had always believed in — and that we’d seen in practice across the Trocano Araretama Project. It captured the essence of what makes this work credible, lasting, and deeply worthwhile.
What follows is a reflection on what community agency means in real terms — not as a concept, but as a lived experience at the heart of our REDD+ work in the Brazilian Amazon.
— Ciaran Kelly, CEO, Go Balance
From Concept to Reality in REDD+
In our previous blog post, we introduced the idea of community agency as one of the defining elements of effective REDD+ implementation. Today, we want to go further — to explore what this actually means in reality. Not as a theory or a buzzword, but as something we’ve seen in action through our work on the Trocano Araretama Project in Borba.
For those unfamiliar with the term, community agency refers to the capacity of local communities to make decisions, shape initiatives, and drive outcomes based on their own priorities and knowledge — rather than being passive recipients of external plans. It’s about power, not just participation.
More Than Participation
Too often, climate projects are designed externally and then delivered to communities. Even when local people are consulted, their role is often reactive.
But community agency means something else entirely. It’s about power, ownership, and voice. It’s the difference between asking communities to take part — and asking them to take the lead.
That shift isn’t semantic. It’s structural.
What This Looks Like in Trocano Borba
In Borba, Amazonas, where the Go Balance Trocano Project operates in formal partnership with the Municipality, we’ve seen first-hand the impact of community agency. Here are just a few examples:
- Fire prevention training, not just delivered to the community — but co-designed with local leaders to meet real risks on the ground. (Read more: Go Balance Trocano Firefighter Training in Borba)
- Composting workshops initiated and facilitated by the Rural Women’s Association, tackling food waste and improving soil health through local expertise. (See also: Trocano REDD Sustainable Composting Workshop)
- Environmental education sessions delivered at the request of teachers and school directors, not as part of a pre-designed curriculum. (Explore this update: Trocano Project Environmental Education in Vila Izabel)
These aren’t just participatory activities. They’re examples of community-led development. And they result in deeper, more durable outcomes — because the people involved feel that the work belongs to them.
Why It Matters in REDD+
The Trocano Project is a REDD+ project, designed to prevent deforestation and avoid carbon emissions through forest protection. But as we’ve often said, our work is about more than just trees.
REDD+ projects that succeed in the long term do so because they build legitimacy and trust. And that comes from working with — not just around — the communities who live within the forest. When people are invited to shape the interventions themselves, rather than simply benefit from them, the project gains relevance and resilience. That’s community agency in practice.
At Go Balance, we take pride in using advanced geospatial monitoring and risk-based methodologies to calculate the impact of our Natural Capital Credits. But not everything that matters can be measured by satellite.
We also ask: Who suggested this initiative? Who is leading it now? Who will continue it when we’re gone? If the answer is “the community,” then we’re doing something right.
Read: Forests and People: Go Balance Trocano REDD+ Project Supports Women in the Amazon
A Process, Not a Checklist
Community agency is not a single event. It’s an ongoing process, rooted in trust, dialogue, and humility. It means staying present, listening more than talking, and recognising that the best solutions are often local.
Community agency is not something you deliver — it’s something you earn. And you earn it by showing up, listening, and staying present over time.”
— Ciaran Kelly, CEO, Go Balance
At Go Balance, we’re always learning — and we’re learning better by working alongside the people of the Trocano Project.
Final Thought: Community Agency as Climate Resilience
In climate action, much is made of resilience. But resilience doesn’t come from infrastructure or innovation alone. It comes from people — especially those who have long protected the ecosystems that the world now wants to value.
If we want REDD+ projects like Trocano to last, we must ask not just how much carbon we can save — but who is shaping the work. That’s what real impact looks like. That’s what community agency means.
And that’s the future we’re building, together.
Related Reading:
- Go Balance REDD+ Project: Climate Resilience and Community Agency in the Amazon
- Volunteer Fire Brigade in Borba, Amazonas
- Sempre Viva Community Visit
- Stingless Bee Breeding Program in the Trocano Project
Want to explore more stories of how community agency shapes real climate solutions in the Brazilian Amazon? Browse our Trocano Project updates, explore our Go Balance Blog or follow us on Medium for more insights from the field.