{"id":82950,"date":"2026-03-22T17:40:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=82950"},"modified":"2026-03-30T19:39:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:39:50","slug":"the-carolinas-of-jacutinga-promote-recycling-womens-dignity-art-environmental-education-heritage-and-sustainable-development-across-five-cities-in-greater-rio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=82950","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Carolinas of Jacutinga\u2019 Promote Recycling, Women\u2019s Dignity, Art, Environmental Education, Heritage and Sustainable Development Across Five Cities in Greater Rio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Marilza<\/a>
Marilza Reis Arariba, current president of Coopcampo, that gave origin to Carolinas of Jacutinga. Photo: Fabio Leon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"\"This article is part of a\u00a0<\/i><\/i>series<\/a>\u00a0created in partnership with the\u00a0Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies<\/a>\u00a0at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the\u00a0Digital Brazil Project<\/a>\u00a0on environmental justice in the favelas through RioOnWatch.<\/em><\/p>\n

This Women\u2019s Month, following Rio de Janeiro\u2019s 2026 carnival<\/a>, RioOnWatch visited Mesquita, a city in Greater Rio\u2019s Baixada Fluminense region, to learn about the Carolinas of Jacutinga project, created in honor of Carolina Maria de Jesus. De Jesus, one of the greatest authors in Brazilian history, was the inspiration behind one of Rio\u2019s premier samba schools, Unidos da Tijuca<\/a>\u2019s 2026 carnival parade. Like the women of Jacutinga, she was a waste picker<\/a>. Today, these residents transform their neighborhood\u2019s history through a cooperative focused on recycling, art, environmental education and memory.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018I Am Carolina Maria de Jesus: The One Who Overcame Hunger and Rewrote Brazil\u2019<\/h3>\n

Carolina Maria de Jesus<\/a>\u2019<\/em> life journey echoes in the streets of Mesquita<\/a>, in the Baixada Fluminense<\/a>. The writer who transformed her lived experience<\/a> amid hardship in the Canind\u00e9 favela<\/a>, on the banks of the Tiet\u00ea River, in S\u00e3o Paulo, into a landmark of world literature with Child of the Dark<\/em><\/a> in 1960, today inspires the project Carolinas of Jacutinga<\/a>, which not only honors the writer\u2019s name but also brings her essence to life<\/a> by organizing women waste pickers into a network of solidarity economy<\/a>, leadership and cooperative work.<\/p>\n