Empowering Quilombola Communities through Legal Design and Accessible Governance

Quilombola communities in Brazil have been interacting with Public and private sectors to develop carbon offset projects. However, governance in these initiatives faces structural challenges due to the technical jargon used in formal written documents and one-sided decision-making models. Issues like these conflict with the oral tradition, collectivity, and cultural practices of these quilombola communities, barring the exercise of their rights and hindering their development. This article analyses how the use of Legal Design techniques help to strengthen the political autonomy and self-management capacity of quilombola communities. By removing language barriers from carbon offset agreements that help the development of quilombola communities, these communities may reach higher levels of understanding of the project’s governance, and result in better agreements for the community.