These occupied lands take the form of acampamento and assentamento (legalized camps). A few dozen families, with the help of he Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, MST) are located on land mostly unused or poorly used that they want to develop. They live in makeshift housing and begin to cultivate land: this is the begenning of an acampamento.

After a few years, thanks to their mobilization, the state issues them a title. The community can then develop, construct solid structures and proceed to the second step, the assentamento. Fanny Blanchard, trainee with Frères des Hommes in Brazil, explains why the occupation of land is perfectly legal: "The occupation of unused or misused lands, or land obtained illegaly, is a law that appears in the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988. This action is all the more justified in that it redistributes land to combat the strong socio-economic inequalities that exist in Brazil, and to give small farmers a chance to develop family farms and to live with dignity." Assentamento operate as self sufficient communities. Once the owner of the land, the community can invest in its infrastructure: a pharmacy, a nursery, a common room, a center for beekeeping, etc... The state also provides grants to build houses. Families cultivate coffee, vegetables, fruits, and sometimes have chickens or a few animals. Given the difficulties of city life, these people have often experienced unemployment and poverty.

Here they find stability and have the option of another way of life, different than the one offered by large Brazilian cities. Maria Irma moved to Irma Alberta in 2002, with 63 other families: "It was not easy, for sure. It was a real challenge to live in the camp with my daughter and her two children, who were very young at the time. But hey, it’s worth it... Today we have our own land, we plant our food, my grandchildren love living here, they have all the space they want to have fun."

In Brazil, 4 million families are still landless: after 25 years of action, the MST continues to help them so that can all live with dignity by working the land.