{"id":81280,"date":"2025-07-29T10:27:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=81280"},"modified":"2025-08-10T15:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:51:32","slug":"we-only-have-dignity-when-the-favela-becomes-sustainable-collective-action-preserves-agroforest-in-morro-da-providencia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=81280","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We Only Have Dignity When the Favela Becomes Sustainable\u2019: Collective Action Preserves Agroforest in Morro da Provid\u00eancia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Participants<\/a>
Participants of the collective action removed 20 bags of garbage from the Morro do Provid\u00eancia agroforest. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/i><\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The agroforest in the <\/span>Morro da Provid\u00eancia<\/span><\/a> favela, in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s <\/span>city center<\/span><\/a>, has been pulsing with renewed health since July 12. On that day, a <\/span>collective action<\/span><\/a> organized by <\/span>Agroecological Provid\u00eancia<\/span><\/a> carried out cleaning and maintenance of the community\u2019s common space, known locally as Java. Publicized by the <\/span>Sustainable Favela Network Collective <\/span><\/a>Calendar* and other collectives, the initiative also received support from a community agent with the <\/span>Municipal Secretariat of Environment and Climate<\/span><\/a>, as well as cleaning staff from <\/span>Comlurb<\/span><\/a>, the municipal waste collection utility. By the end of the collective action, 20 bags of trash had been removed from the agroforest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agroecological Provid\u00eancia<\/a> has been developing the community and strengthening a sense of belonging<\/a> among residents since 2013. Combining community development with agroecology, socio-environmental education, and community health and wellness, the initiative is coordinated by Alessandra Roque, a forest guide and guardian, and traditional healer who has lived in Provid\u00eancia since 1997, alongside Lorena Portela, an environmental engineer from Niter\u00f3i\u2014Rio\u2019s sister city across Guanabara Bay. The project\u2019s headquarters is located in a green space above the Jo\u00e3o Ricardo Tunnel. Roque explains the dynamics of the monthly collective action that cleans and maintains the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to keep this space clean since it\u2019s open to everyone\u2026 It\u2019s like the work of ants: once a month we hold a collective action. It really depends: in months when a lot of people show up, we remove a lot of garbage. In months with fewer people, we take out less, because it\u2019s back-breaking work\u2026 Last month, we had [more] help and managed to take out 68 bags of trash, including rubble\u2026 If we can keep the amount of trash from building up, that\u2019s a job well done.\u201d \u2014 Alessandra Roque<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Alessandra<\/a>
Alessandra Roque, one of the coordinators of Agroecological Provid\u00eancia, takes part in the monthly clean-up in the Provid\u00eancia favela’s agroforest. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The action was dedicated to removing inorganic waste, such as plastic bags and wrappers. The organic materials, such as weeds and tree prunings, stay in the agroforest to decompose and serve as compost.<\/p>\n

Cleaning and maintaining the forest poses many challenges. Roque lists difficulties with some residents, people experiencing homelessness, and public authorities. During the action, she called out the neglect of a recent municipal construction project which, after building a railing for the stairway leading to the favela, left rubble inside the garden bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to the difficulties we face with [some] residents who dump rubble, there are people experiencing homelessness who sometimes seek shelter and leave their trash behind. We also face neglect from public authorities, who built the railing on the stairs and dumped all the cement… into the garden bed. All the rubble, pipes, and rebar were tossed into the garden bed.\u201d \u2014 Alessandra Roque<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Remains<\/a>
Remains of cement, rubble, pipes, and rebar dumped by the municipal government inside the agroforest\u2019s garden bed. This construction waste was collected during the collective action. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All collective actions have the support of Provid\u00eancia residents who, faced with the scarcity of leisure spaces in their community, come together in a collective effort to keep this green space alive. Resident Solange Barcelos said in an interview that she regularly takes part in maintaining the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always participate. I think it\u2019s a good thing, because we don\u2019t have much space as it is. This is a good space, but it [depends on] maintenance\u2026 It\u2019s difficult, but not impossible. We\u2019re doing our part and counting on the residents and on people who pass through to do theirs\u2026 Having a place for the kids to play [is important]\u2026 There\u2019s some room here, and no danger from cars.\u201d \u2014 Solange Barcelos<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Lene<\/a>
Lene Sousa and Solange Barcelos, Provid\u00eancia residents, highlighted the importance of the clean\u2011up. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Located in an area known as \u201cJava,\u201d one of the main entrances to Morro da Provid\u00eancia, this previously abandoned site was revitalized as an agroecological space in 2019<\/a>. Since then, the agroforest has continued to bear fruit for residents of the community and surrounding area. Dona Franklina do Nascimento, a resident of neighboring Santo Cristo\u2014just downhill from Provid\u00eancia\u2014takes part in Agroecological Provid\u00eancia\u2019s activities and shares her thoughts about preserving the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived in this area for 40 years\u2026 We should come here more often [to keep it clean], but life gets so busy, you know? There should be more signs to educate residents and keep the place clean. Whenever we come, we make a difference. That\u2019s how it has to be\u2014each one does a little. Before you know it, that little is a lot. I\u2019m <\/span>one of Alessandra\u2019s sewing students<\/span><\/a>; I take part in her tailoring and creative sewing classes. So when she says [there\u2019s going to be a collective action], we bring our strength to help out.\u201d \u2014 Franklina do Nascimento<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Daniel Alves found out about the event through the <\/span>Sustainable Favela Network\u2019s Collective <\/span><\/a>Calendar and came all the way from <\/span>Ilha do Governador<\/span><\/a>, in Rio’s North Zone, to take part in the collective action.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from Ilha do Governador, born and raised in the Parque Royal favela, and I grew up on Guanabara Bay\u2026 My childhood was spent on the bay, fishing for shrimp, fish, and crab, and coming into contact with other species like squid and octopus. I took environmental education at school, and after the 2000s came a major environmental disaster in Guanabara Bay\u2014the one caused by Petrobras\u2019s Duque de Caxias Oil Refinery (REDUC), one of the biggest [environmental disasters in Rio]\u2026 After that, I graduated and began working in sustainability and human development. I learned that we only have dignity when we talk about human and social development, when the favela and the community become sustainable.\u201d \u2014 Daniel Alves<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/a>
The collective action attracted volunteers from other communities and parts of Rio, including Dona Franklina do Nascimento and Daniel Alves. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The collective action also had the collaboration of Thais Barbosa, a community environmental education agent from the Municipal Secretariat of Environment and Climate\u2019s Environmental Education Center<\/a>, as well as three Comlurb<\/a> staff who helped clear tall grass from the most difficult\u2011to\u2011access parts of the agroforest. Barbosa spoke about the role of Agroecological Provid\u00eancia\u2019s agroforest and her work in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s essential to] raise residents\u2019 awareness about the importance of not only cleaning the space but also preserving this forested area\u2026 Sometimes people are experiencing vulnerability and poverty, so the last thing they\u2019re thinking about is cleaning or preserving\u2014or not cutting down a tree\u2026 We only recently started [our environmental education work]\u2026 We\u2019re going to start now, with the people from [the] Pedra Lisa [area of the community], who are the ones facing the most vulnerability here in the favela\u2026 We\u2019re going to start by talking to them and planting a few vegetable gardens in the area\u2014a very confined area, lacking trees. There are only houses and narrow alleys there\u2026 We need to do the work of going and talking to them before planting the gardens, you see?\u201d \u2014 Thais Barbosa<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Thais<\/a>
Thais Barbosa, community environmental education agent and Provid\u00eancia resident, participates in the cleaning action. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Resilient, the Provid\u00eancia agroforest project continues to create a breath of fresh air for the favela right in Rio\u2019s city center. It is one of the few places in the area where residents can enjoy the <\/span>cooler microclimate<\/span><\/a> that only green spaces provide. For over a decade, Agroecological Provid\u00eancia has been building a sustainable favela in the <\/span>Port Region<\/span><\/a>, in <\/span>Little Africa<\/span><\/a>, with the support of residents and volunteers. Like Provid\u00eancia, through collective organizing, favelas and peripheral areas across Rio continue to make themselves present and occupy abandoned spaces, create sustainable alternatives, and <\/span>fight for their rights<\/span><\/a> in the <\/span>face of a State<\/span><\/a> which, historically, has <\/span>evaded its responsibilities<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

See the Full Album by B\u00e1rbara Dias on Flickr<\/a>:<\/h3>\n

\"Mutir\u00e3o<\/a>