Fire is the least expensive and most broadly used method of clearing land and converting forest biomass into soil nutrients for pastures and crops in the tropics. Fire is also used to control weeds and to reinvigorate palatable pasture grasses. Even if beneficial for farmers over the short run, intensification of deforestation and burning impose long-term costs on individuals and society.

The Sustainable Settlements Project (PAS –Projeto Assentamentos Sustentáveis in Portuguese) was initiated in 2012, with the support of the Amazon Fund and the FVPP (Live, Produce and Preserve Foundation in the Portuguese acronym), with the challenge of proposing and implementing a model that associates increased income for family farmers and reduced deforestation levels in Land Reform.