- Zacarias and Lourdes are farmers and the traditional owners of his family’s land. Their community is in conflict with Timor Gap, a national company planning to build a fuel storage facility on 86 hectares of land where 34 families live.
- They are being assisted by Oxfam’s local partners Rede ba Rai, a national network that promotes fair and sustainable land rights in Timor-Leste, and Juristas Advocasia, which trains communities on legal matters, offers legal support, and works on land law and policy issues.
- Rede ba Rai, along with community members like Zacarias, played a key role in shaping Timor-Leste’s 2017 Land Law, which was a major step forward for land rights.
My name is Zacarias. I am the representative for the affected community. I work as a farmer. The land was passed down from our ancestors to us. We use the land for tending to our crops, raising the livestock. We sell those things to support our families. We use it for our daily necessities.