{"id":80601,"date":"2025-03-20T15:16:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80601"},"modified":"2025-03-31T15:35:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T18:35:56","slug":"female-entrepreneurship-racial-literacy-financial-autonomy-for-women-in-jardim-gramacho-favela-made-famous-in-waste-land-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80601","title":{"rendered":"Female Entrepreneurship + Racial Literacy = Financial Autonomy for Women in Jardim Gramacho, Favela Made Famous in ‘Waste Land’ Film"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Entrepreneurs involved with Pega Vis\u00e3o<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This Women\u2019s Month, in one of the most vulnerable areas of Greater Rio de Janeiro’s Baixada Fluminense<\/a> region, an initiative is transforming the lives of Black women from low-income backgrounds with limited access to education. The Pega Vis\u00e3o \u2013 Entrepreneurship for the Future<\/a> project, by Baixada Lab<\/a>, aims to strengthen financial autonomy and promote anti-racist education among women aged 18 to 50 in the Jardim Gramacho<\/a> neighborhood of Duque de Caxias<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since 2023, Pega Vis\u00e3o has supported mothers and young women who either run or wish to start their own businesses, promoting entrepreneurship as a tool for empowerment and income generation. In a region where thousands live on less than R$3 a day<\/a> (~US$0.50), initiatives like this offer more than just economic opportunity\u2014they create spaces for personal and community empowerment.<\/p>\n

The project, which has already made a difference in the lives of around 100 women, brings together workshop facilitators and collaborators who run businesses in fields such as education, media, stationery, makeup, and collaborative spaces. Over the past 12 months, Pega Vis\u00e3o has partnered with local organizations like Pamen Cheifa<\/a>. Participants are offered workshops, talks, and hands-on activities focused on brand development, creative solutions, and digital marketing. Five women have received direct investments for their businesses through Baixada Lab, with support from the Open Society Foundations and the Institute of Religious Studies (ISER<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The project is now in its second phase, launched in August 2024, with a stronger focus on social media and racial issues. With the participation of two Black women entrepreneurs\u2014one in the beauty industry and the other in business management, the project is currently held in a local branch of the Assemblies of God<\/a> church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working as a nail designer, a manicurist, since I was 12. For a while, I had lost faith\u2014until I joined the course. At first, I thought: there\u2019s so much we don\u2019t have here in Jardim Gramacho. That\u2019s why having a free course is so important\u2014to open our minds and help us follow our dreams and build a career.\u201d \u2014 Lorrane de Pontes, Pega Vis\u00e3o student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the workshop facilitators adopted storytelling as part of her teaching approach. She began by sharing her own journey\u2014growing up in a favela with her mother and sisters, in extremely precarious conditions. Throughout her account, she highlighted the importance of social projects, explaining that since childhood and adolescence, she had taken part in many such initiatives, which were fundamental to her studies and to accessing higher education. Despite her academic pursuits, she always wanted to become an entrepreneur in the makeup industry. During the workshop, as she taught the girls, she stressed the importance of discipline and building a strong sense of self\u2014to avoid falling into paths like prostitution, abusive relationships, or involvement with drugs.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In the Pega Vis\u00e3o project, participants learn to promote their businesses in photography workshops for social media. Photo: Promotional materials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Racial Literacy and Jardim Gramacho<\/h3>\n

The project has been empowering women working in various fields, such as nail design, confectionery, creative stationery, clothing sales, and food services. In addition to offering professional training, the initiative integrates racial literacy<\/a> into all its activities, helping participants recognize their worth and strengthen their racial identity within their social context.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned that I\u2019m capable, that I can, that I’ll be able to… through the project, I\u2019ve been able to reinvent myself, open new windows, and keep learning every day. I used to be really scared of trying and failing. [With the] instructors, I\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s through our mistakes that we improve and grow.\u201d \u2014 Camila Trindade, Pega Vis\u00e3o student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In her article Critical racial literacy through autobiographical narratives: with reflective activities<\/em><\/a>, linguist and professor Aparecida de Jesus Ferreira writes that \u201ccritical racial literacy is the act of reflecting on race and racism. It allows us to understand how race and racism are dealt with in our daily lives, and the extent to which they impact our social identities\u2014whether at work, school, university, within our families, or in our broader social relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

By incorporating critical racial literacy in its activities, the Pega Vis\u00e3o project supports Black women entrepreneurs in understanding how race and racism shape their paths and business opportunities. This recognition strengthens their identities, helps them value their knowledge, and enables them to develop strategies to overcome structural barriers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking about financial autonomy in Jardim Gramacho is crucial, because we\u2019re talking about an area impacted by Latin America\u2019s largest landfill for over 30 years. This had lasting consequences: poor infrastructure, lack of sanitation, and an absence of public housing policy. There [in Gramacho], the State fails to meet the needs of the most precarious communities. Thinking about financial autonomy means breaking with the logic of welfare dependence, which is very present in the region, and helping to collectively build an entrepreneurial mindset in dialogue with a Paulo Freirean approach\u2014one that reads the world before reading the word. In other words: developing a social awareness that generates financial responsibility and encourages network-based entrepreneurship. Because if the problem is structural, no single entrepreneur can solve it alone\u2014they must create an ecosystem with other entrepreneurs in order to foster a strong local economy that can meaningfully support their businesses and clients, both within the community and beyond.\u201d \u2014 Vladimir de Oliveira, Baixada Lab pedagogical coordinator<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Participants<\/a>
Participants learn marketing and communication strategies for beauty businesses focused on the Black market with makeup artist Mariana Sandes (in red). Photo: Promotional materials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Historically one of the poorest areas in the Baixada Fluminense, Jardim Gramacho, in Duque de Caxias, has been marked by decades of social and economic vulnerability. The area gained international visibility with the 2010 documentary Waste Land<\/em><\/a>, by visual artist Vik Muniz<\/a>, which portrayed the harsh reality of recyclable waste pickers at the former landfill\u2014once the largest in Latin America.<\/p>\n

Even after the landfill\u2019s closure<\/a> in 2012, living conditions in the area have remained precarious\u2014with high unemployment rates, a lack of basic infrastructure, and poor-quality public services. Amid this scenario, Jardim Gramacho is home to a number of nonprofit organizations<\/a>, most of which work in social assistance, food distribution, and popular education. The Pega Vis\u00e3o project aims to fill a gap in initiatives that promote financial autonomy and entrepreneurial training, offering structured goals, access to resources, and ongoing support.<\/p>\n

From the Daily Hustle to Building a Future: The Influence of Universidade da Correria on Pega Vis\u00e3o<\/h3>\n

The Pega Vis\u00e3o project was inspired by the initiative Universidade da Correria (something along the lines of ‘The Daily Hustle University’), created by writer and activist Anderson Fran\u00e7a<\/a>, who organized free meetups, workshops, and talks aimed at teaching youth how to pursue entrepreneurship and challenge traditional market norms. On his blog, Tuesday Column<\/em><\/a>, he shares reflections and stories about the experience and impact of the initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Universidade da Correria was a] project I created while living in Morro do 18<\/a>, and the first class came together in [Complexo da] Mar\u00e9, back in 2013. I used to sell T-shirts with the project logo for R$39 (~US$6.80). With that money, I ran the first class. After five years, I had trained 4,300 Black entrepreneurs. Our school started out in an alley. I taught in narrow lanes, bars, churches, prisons, in my own home, and at the [NGO] A\u00e7\u00e3o da Cidadania<\/a> warehouse. The goal was to strengthen Black-owned businesses and build a Black middle class in Brazil\u2014which still doesn\u2019t exist. That is the biggest legacy of slavery. I’d go from favela to favela teaching classes. I was a popular educator. I was happy, teaching people how to manage their finances and build business strategies. We were an accelerator and incubator for people who had been rejected. We would set up a pitch, and many students managed to secure investment. What we built was in line with the ideals of Marcus Garvey<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pega Vis\u00e3o emerged from the same spirit: valuing the knowledge born in peripheral areas, entrepreneurial autonomy, and the creative power of the favelas. The project seeks to strengthen paths of resistance and innovation by connecting popular knowledge, opportunities, and support networks to expand the impact of businesses and initiatives led by people from peripheral areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see a pioneering aspect in what Anderson Fran\u00e7a did\u2026 This perspective can easily lean toward a utilitarian discourse\u2014one of individualism and meritocracy. But it’s up to us to craft our own counternarrative<\/a>, our critique. We have the tools for that; we’re not naive. I’m just making it clear that what we’re doing is disputing a space that the left tends to demonizes. Entrepreneurs are often viewed, let’s say, as working-class individuals co-opted by far-right rhetoric. And, to some extent, that’s not entirely wrong. However, we’re there to break through that bubble.\u201d \u2014 Vladimir de Oliveira, Baixada Lab pedagogical coordinator<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Part<\/a>
Part of the current Pega Vis\u00e3o class, with pedagogical coordinator Vladimir de Oliveira in the center. Photo: Francisco Pinho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pedagogical coordinator also highlights a point he considers fundamental, and which often comes up in conversations with the students. He explains that his work draws on a concept called \u201cshared prosperity,\u201d which he sees as highly relevant. According to him, the word prosperity<\/em> is very present in the students\u2019 universe, as around 90% of them come from Pentecostal or neo-Pentecostal churches, where the term is widely used in theological contexts. What is generally missing from Pentecostal discourse, however, is the element of sharing<\/em>\u2014of dividing, distributing, and multiplying\u2014not only financial resources, but also information, technology, knowledge, support and contact networks, and above all, opportunities.<\/p>\n

In this sense, the Pega Vis\u00e3o project stands out as the only initiative focused on entrepreneurial training for Black and young women in Jardim Gramacho, offering practical training, the strengthening of support networks, and direct investment in local businesses. Despite challenges such as limited funding and the absence of public facilities to host its activities, the initiative continues to empower Black women from peripheral areas, proving that entrepreneurship, education, and solidarity networks are powerful tools for transforming realities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a resident of Jardim Gramacho, the Pega Vis\u00e3o project was a turning point for me\u2014it gave me direction in my business. I was completely lost; I didn\u2019t know what to do, where to go, or how to set my prices. The course gave me a clearer sense of what I want to do. It was well taught and easy to follow\u2014with homework assignments and teachers who are active in the job market. I was lucky to receive a grant at the end of the course\u2014that money was a blessing. I was able to make a down payment on a new piece of equipment I really needed: a 40\u00d760 flat heat press. I\u2019m just so thankful to the entire team and all the collaborators, who supported us and gave us strength not to give up. Even living in a place as precarious as Jardim Gramacho, we have potential. We are powerful. We are women entrepreneurs. We need to work\u2014and give it our all.\u201d \u2014 Monique Costa, Pega Vis\u00e3o student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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About the Author: Janaina Tavares was born and raised in Nova Igua\u00e7u, in the Baixada Fluminense. She is a sociolinguist, proofreader, project advisor, and PhD candidate at PIPGLA\u2013UFRJ. She is part of the Collective for Studies in Contemporary Literacies (UFRRJ) and researches narratives and literacies of survival and hope within anti-fundamentalist evangelical churches.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Support\u00a0RioOnWatch\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings, and direct support to favelas\u00a0by clicking\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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