The state of Ceará, located in the northeast region of Brazil, has historically suffered from severe water shortage, with a number of areas at risk of desertification. In the 2010s, rural communities in the state had extremely limited access to safe water, which threatened residents' water and food security, caused sanitation problems, and led to internal migration to cities and other states. During the early years of the Sistema Integrado de Saneamento Rural (SISAR), a partnership between state governments and community-based organizations, the Ceará state government provided resources to build up rural water and sanitation systems, but many of these systems never functioned properly or consistently due to infrastructure problems, lack of management capacities, gaps in knowledge, or scarcity of resources that the government could not provide.  

When Fundación Avina and the private sector joined the partnership in 2016, it was a turning point that injected new financial resources, technical knowledge, and management capacities. This made it possible to effectively operate systems using existing infrastructure and expand services to more communities.  

Fundación Avina played a key role in strengthening the initiative's social capital, bringing in private sector support for SISAR and encouraging social innovation to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders. This enabled the partners to develop shared action agendas based on a unifying vision that aligned the efforts of all involved. These contributions were critical to the success and expansion of the SISAR model, which has been featured at national and international community water management events and systematized as a type of Sustainability Center.  

As of 2024, 1,077,364 residents of rural communities in the semi-arid region of Ceará now have safe, reliable access to potable water thanks to SISAR. The program was supported by Companhia de Água e Esgoto do Ceará (CAGECE), the public-private partnership for providing water and sewer services in Ceará, in collaboration with rural communities that took on an active role in managing their own water systems. The success of SISAR lies in the collaboration between the government, communities, and private funders, as well as in the system's capacity to adapt to the reality of the rural semi-arid region, where water shortage is an ongoing challenge. Rural communities in Ceará took on the responsibility of operating and maintaining their local water systems, creating a collectively managed regional network. The success of SISAR also lies in its hybrid model of community self-management combined with technical and institutional support, where the system provides training, technical assistance, and financial resources.  

In addition, a sliding scale fee model was implemented to make the service affordable for residents, which ensures the financial sustainability of the system and creates the conditions for it to continue to grow. This collaborative approach allowed for 282,200 household connections to be installed in 164 municipalities and the management of 354 treatment stations and 690 wells, ensuring a continuous, high-quality supply of potable water for rural communities.  

This represents a paradigm shift when it comes to natural resource management in the area, using a broadscale solution based on collaboration and citizen participation to guarantee access to water and resilience in these communities.