Era uma vez, na Bahia… Project (Once Upon a Time… in Bahia) was created to expand access to reading in Algodões, a community with strong social bonds and limited cultural infrastructure. Led by local volunteers in partnership with families, the initiative promotes literature as both a social practice and a fundamental right for every child.

In 2025, Instituto Tecendo Infâncias advanced the initiative by expanding the book collection and improving the conditions of the community space where reading activities are held. A total of 50 new children’s books were purchased, along with 16 rubber mats designed to provide greater comfort for children, enhancing the quality of activities conducted both indoors and outdoors.

The project combines reading and oral storytelling with community-strengthening activities, engaging families and volunteers, encouraging reading habits, and reinforcing intergenerational bonds. Weekly book lending records and reports from families and educators indicate positive impacts on literacy development, school performance, and children’s self-esteem.

By providing this support, the Institute has amplified a community-based initiative that offers children a space for connection, imagination, and belonging. The initiative also fosters learning, values local knowledge, strengthens community bonds, and nurtures children’s relationship with nature from an early age.