Celebrate International Day of Rural Women with Our Alumna Zulmira Fonseca Carvalho Amaral.

To celebrate the International Day of Rural Women 2026, we would like you to meet our Australia Awards alumna and active member of the Timor-Leste Australia Alumni Association (TL3A) Agricultural Sectoral Group, Zulmira Fonseca Carvalho Amaral. Let us learn about her life journey and what the International Day of Rural Women means to her.

Zulmira was born in Dilor village, in the Administrative Post of Lacluta, Viqueque. Her journey from a rural village to studying at university in Australia began with her own experience of growing up and studying in Lacluta.

Zulmira still remembers her school years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She attended a Catholic primary school in Lacluta, where almost 20 girls studied alongside her, together with many boys. By the time primary school was completed, only six of the girls remained. Only three of them continued to middle school at the public school in Lacluta.

Eventually, only two of the girls from that original group completed secondary education. Zulmira completed her secondary education in Viqueque town. Zulmira was the only one from her original group who went on to complete university.

Looking back at those years, Zulmira remembers how difficult it was for many rural girls to continue their education. Family economic circumstances meant that girls often had to help their parents on the farm. Many parents themselves had little or no formal education and could not read or write, making it difficult for them to provide educational support to their children.

These experiences became part of Zulmira’s understanding of the challenges faced by rural girls and later influenced the direction of her own life.

Her decision to study community development was also rooted in her early experience of working with local communities. Before going to university, Zulmira began volunteering with the local organisation Kadalak Sulimutuk Institute, where she worked with communities in Casnafar, Dili.

It was through this volunteer experience that she became interested in the process of community development. Around 2001–2002, she first met Dr. Helen Hill from Victoria University, from whom she heard the term “community development” again.

For Zulmira, the words immediately reminded her of rural Lacluta and the people she had grown up with. She began to see that her own experiences growing up in a rural community could motivate her to learn how to support communities more effectively.

From a young age, Zulmira had dreamed of going to university. But her dream was not only about obtaining a degree. She wanted to gain knowledge and skills that could help improve the lives of people around her and become an example for other women and girls from rural communities.

Zulmira was working hard and being awarded scholarship in 2011, and in 2014 her dream to become a role model for rural women turned to reality when she completed her Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Community Development at Victoria University in Australia through an Australia Awards Scholarship.

For Zulmira, graduating was not the end of her journey. It strengthened the promise she had made to herself to return and use what she had learned to support people in the villages of Timor-Leste.

“Since graduating from one of the world-class universities in Australia in 2014, I made a promise to myself that I would use the skills and knowledge that I gained to support people at the community level.”

Her journey from Dilor to Australia and back to rural Timor-Leste has continued to shape the work she does today.

In late 2025, Zulmira received a small grant from the Timor-Leste Australia Alumni Association (TL3A) through a collaboration with the Viqueque Women’s Association to establish an integrated community farm on her property.

For Zulmira, the farm represents more than an agricultural project. It was established as a practical learning centre for youth, women and neighbouring farmers, providing a space where they can learn, observe and share experiences about sustainable and integrated farming practices. It also provides women with an opportunity to gain practical knowledge that they can apply on their own farms and in their households.

The farm has received strong and continued technical support from the Viqueque Municipal Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, helping to strengthen the practical knowledge and skills of youth and neighbouring farmers involved in the initiative.

The initiative reflects Zulmira’s continuing commitment to bringing opportunities and knowledge closer to rural communities, a commitment that began with her own experience growing up in Dilor and continued through her education, professional work and volunteer engagement with rural women.

From Dilor to Australia and back to rural Timor-Leste, her story reflects a simple but powerful commitment: “My work in community development focuses on empowering women, young people, and vulnerable communities to improve their livelihoods, strengthen their leadership, and participate actively in local development. I apply a participatory and inclusive approach that values local knowledge, community ownership, and practical solutions to address development challenges.”