{"id":80706,"date":"2025-03-30T09:01:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T12:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80706"},"modified":"2025-04-14T12:26:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T15:26:35","slug":"meet-dona-nete-the-acari-artisan-turning-waste-into-fashion-and-championing-zero-waste-in-the-favela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80706","title":{"rendered":"Meet Dona Nete: The Acari Artisan Turning Waste Into Fashion and Championing Zero Waste in the Favela"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Showing<\/a>
Showing one of her pieces made with reused nonwoven fabric, Dona Nete promotes a sustainable relationship between fashion and waste in Acari. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

Since 2022, March 30 has been designated International Day of Zero Waste<\/a> by the United Nations (UN<\/a>) General Assembly. The date draws attention to the need for sustainable waste management<\/a> in the face of the alarming environmental crisis brought on by the overproduction of garbage, which globally amounts to 2.3 billion tons per year and could reach 3.8 billion by 2050. In 2025, the UN is calling on the world to reflect on the social and environmental impacts of waste, with this year\u2019s focus being the fashion industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, RioOnWatch<\/em> spoke with Isanete Bernardo da Silva, an artisan from Acari<\/a>, a favela in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s North Zone<\/a>. She crafts clothing and other items using repurposed materials, helping to reduce excessive waste and promote sustainable fashion within her community. She proudly states that she has made it her life\u2019s mission to \u201cturn waste into raw materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Nete shows one of her pieces, a handmade doily for shelves, knitted from potato sack material. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dona Nete: A Pioneer in Sustainable Fashion<\/h3>\n

Da Silva, known to all as Nete, met us in front of the Acari Hospital. From there, we walked through the neighborhood’s streets towards Espa\u00e7o Faveleira<\/a>, where she showcased her latest clothing and accessory creations. Dona Nete has called Acari home since 1978. Now 67, with two decades devoted to repurposing materials, she recalls that her love for crafting began back in her school days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been many years. [Back in school] I fell in love with handicrafts. From then on, I kept going with this type of work, until I eventually got into recycled materials. Everything I see, I try to recycle. Why? Because I find working with these materials incredibly beautiful. And it just keeps awakening you to wonderful things. You look at something and think, \u2018hold on, I can transform this. I have the power to turn waste into luxury. I have that power.\u2019 So that keeps me more and more motivated.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Nete shows details on a bag made with PET bottle ring bands. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The restless nature of her creative mind is what draws her to repurpose materials. In addition to reusing discarded materials to create new pieces, Dona Nete also makes clothing and accessories from organic materials, such as dried tree leaves and seeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use all kinds of materials\u2014from onion skins to dry guava leaves. I make flowers [with them]. Old clothes? I cut them up, transform them. Basically, I’ll use just about anything… You can make beautiful things out of toilet paper rolls. Earrings, necklaces, baskets. Truly beautiful things. So yes, I believe there are no limits. Our imagination has no limits.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Looking closely at Dona Nete’s clothes, dresses, bags, and hats, it’s easy to see the wide variety of materials she uses to create her products. While Nete collects some of these materials in Acari, she says she buys others from recyclable waste pickers<\/a> who live in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest part for me is getting soda or beer bottles. I don\u2019t drink either, so I have to buy them, right? There are lots of recyclable waste pickers around here. Guaravita [a natural guaran\u00e1-based drink] cups are easier, because you can find them on any corner. All you have to do is head out with a bag and go for a walk\u2014up and down the streets, picking up the little cups. From the body of the cup, you can make a bag. From the rim, too. You can use the whole thing.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Nete sews a base made with aluminum can bottoms and crochet, to be used in clothing. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even though the work of recyclable waste pickers helps reduce the amount of garbage resulting from inadequate disposal in Acari, Dona Nete argues that excessive consumption, along with poor public management<\/a> of solid waste, is the main factor putting residents’ health and well-being at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people consumed more natural things, there would be a lot less garbage. Everything\u2019s packaging, packaging, packaging, isn\u2019t it? But when it comes to recyclables, like cans and PET soda bottles, we have a lot of waste pickers around here\u2026 They collect them to sell.\u201d\u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Known in the community for her work, Dona Nete now relies on residents who separate their recyclables and donate them to the artisan. This support network strengthens her production and helps reduce waste in Acari.<\/p>\n

After 20 years of handling waste with creativity and ecological awareness, Dona Nete now shares her wisdom with the community. Since 2022, every Monday, she has been teaching her neighbors her crafting techniques using repurposed materials at the Edna Valad\u00e3o Family Health Clinic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m teaching now… I have an occupational therapy group. These are people who take medication… \u2018black strip\u2019 [controlled] meds to sleep, people who have depression, that kind of thing. Some of them have told me, \u2018Wow, Nete… I\u2019m in love with recycling. I had no idea it could be this fun.\u2019 Another one came up to me and said, \u2018Nete, I\u2019m really thankful to you, because I\u2019ve been taking less medication. Little by little, I\u2019m starting to wean off of it.\u2019 And you know why? Because we start to engage our minds, get them working again.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Nete shows off various models of her sustainable bags. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Currently, some of Dona Nete’s students are already producing and selling their own pieces made from repurposed materials. Dona Nete, however, chooses to go against the grain and refuses to sell her pieces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t sell [anything]. Because here\u2019s the thing: my pieces are one of a kind. I make them with the purpose of teaching. You want a dress like that one? Then you\u2019re going to make your own. We teach people how to fish\u2014we don\u2019t give them the fish. That\u2019s just how I am\u2026 Some people think a lot about money. I\u2019m not like that. I don\u2019t like that. I like to share what I know [with others]. So I\u2019m going to teach you how to make things.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dona Nete, who works in nursing and as a caregiver for the elderly, is passionate about her work with repurposed materials. In addition to teaching women how to create their own sustainable clothing pieces, the artisan encourages her students to rethink consumption and their relationship with waste.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wear my own things [the ones I create], believe it or not. I wear my clothes, I wear my bags. I go to church in my outfits, and the sisters come up to me and say, \u2018Nete, what is that outfit?\u2019 I\u2019m the only one who has it. I made it myself.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Nete poses with a dress made from aluminum cans and crochet. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In thinking about the future, Dona Nete says she believes in the transformative potential her work can have.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much you can do to change things, you know? Our life here on Earth\u2014our living\u2014gets extended. Nature is so grateful\u2026 I\u2019d love to teach, especially in the favelas. Because, generally speaking, people in favelas have limited means of survival. By teaching a favela community, we\u2019ll greatly reduce waste. People will learn what it means to save. People will learn and reeducate themselves. I\u2019d really love for my project to reach these communities, to help reeducate both children and adults. To help people learn to take better care of nature, you know? To take care of what we depend on so much\u2014like water and the natural world. And to put an end to so much sadness, so much tragedy [caused by waste overproduction], because nowadays, even a little bit of rain makes rivers overflow.\u201d \u2014 Dona Nete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

About the author:\u00a0B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/a>\u00a0was born and raised in Bangu, in Rio\u2019s West Zone. She has a degree in Biological Sciences, a master\u2019s in Environmental Education, and has been a public school teacher since 2006. She is a photojournalist and also works with documentary photography. She is a popular communicator for N\u00facleo Piratininga de Comunica\u00e7\u00e3o (NPC<\/a>) and co-founder of\u00a0Coletivo Fotoguerrilha<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Support\u00a0<\/b>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b>\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings, and direct support to favelas\u00a0<\/b>by clicking here.<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Since 2022, March 30 has been designated International Day of Zero Waste by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The date draws attention to the need for sustainable waste management in […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":245,"featured_media":80707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1288,1328,1271,1284,329,452],"tags":[555,258,910,428,385,503,717,1278,1963,37,471,1140,3097],"writer":[3542],"translator":[3425,3174],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[3548],"class_list":{"0":"post-80706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-highlight","8":"category-by-community-contributors","9":"category-favelaqualities","10":"category-interviews-profiles","11":"category-solutions","12":"category-rio20","13":"tag-acari","14":"tag-community-solution","15":"tag-creative-organizing","16":"tag-employment","17":"tag-environmental-education","18":"tag-fashion","19":"tag-handicraft","20":"tag-income","21":"tag-international-womens-day","22":"tag-north-zone","23":"tag-sustainability","24":"tag-waste-management","25":"tag-waste-pickers","26":"writer-barbara-dias","27":"translator-aaron-scott","28":"translator-clau-guimaraes","29":"photographer-barbara-dias"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80726,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80706\/revisions\/80726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80706"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=80706"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=80706"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=80706"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=80706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}