{"id":83998,"date":"2026-08-28T06:40:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T09:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83998"},"modified":"2026-08-28T06:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T09:41:23","slug":"from-concrete-to-food-collective-action-transforms-abandoned-reservoir-into-community-garden-in-complexo-do-alemao-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83998","title":{"rendered":"From Concrete to Food: Collective Action Transforms Abandoned Reservoir Into Community Garden in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o [IMAGES]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Some<\/a>
Some of the participants in the planting collective action organized by Dona Josefa in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o at the end of the activity. The effort involved maintaining the space, building new garden beds and planting approximately 600 vegetable and flowering plant seedlings. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

The garden beds at the Jo\u00e3o Bosco Community Garden<\/a>, in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>, received care and affection from 30 volunteers on August 8 during a revitalization collective action organized by Josefa Maria da Concei\u00e7\u00e3o<\/a>, the inspiring and much-loved Dona Josefa. The community garden sits atop a decommissioned water reservoir and has been turning a previously unproductive concrete area into a space for growing and producing food in the favela<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The activity brought together collectives that participate in the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission and the CPX Popular Action Plan<\/a> Forum, Agroecological Green Roof<\/a>, Green Is Worth the Fight<\/a>, Verdejar Socio-Environmental<\/a>, the Reservoir Residents\u2019 Association, as well as members of the Sustainable Favela Network (SFN<\/a>)* and technical allies from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s (UFRJ<\/a>) MUDA Agroecology Collective Action<\/a> and Vis\u00e3o Coop<\/a>. The collective action was part of the SFN\u2019s Collective Calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dona Josefa, an environmental educator, agroecological farmer in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o and member of the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission, led the activities with the energy and knowledge of a community matriarch:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to strengthen this space and Denner\u2019s work. We can\u2019t just sit back or work alone. We need to bring people together to work with us\u2026 As part of the CPX Popular Action Plan Forum and the Complexo do Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission, we meet every month. So, we came here to strengthen this space right from the start.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Dona<\/a>
Dona Josefa, environmental educator and agroecological farmer from Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, holds a seed tray with lettuce seedlings. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denner Noia<\/a>, born and raised in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, is an artist, environmentalist, community organizer, popular educator and member of the Vis\u00e3o Coop team. He is also a member of the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission and is responsible for the Jo\u00e3o Bosco Community Garden. He spoke about the use of the former reservoir’s rooftop and the garden\u2019s name, which pays tribute to a resident who pioneered planting at the site:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this industrial-scale reservoir, this huge space that was abandoned for a long time. It basically became a vacant lot where people would dump their trash\u2026 First, we held a collective action to clean up the space, then another to clear all the overgrowth. And then we started the garden. There used to be a resident, someone born and raised here, who took care of it on his own. The harvest? He shared it with the community. His name was Mr. Jo\u00e3o Bosco. So, when the president of the residents\u2019 association approached me about creating a community garden up here, everyone I talked to mentioned Mr. Jo\u00e3o Bosco and the work he’d done. We reached out to his family and told them about the project, and they gave us their permission. They liked the tribute, so we named the garden after him.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The day\u2019s activities started with a collective, collaborative breakfast. After the meal, the collective action focused on clearing the land, cleaning and maintaining the garden beds and planting approximately 600 vegetable seedlings\u2014including lettuce, arugula and chives\u2014as well as some flowering plants.<\/p>\n

\"Jos\u00e9<\/a>
Jos\u00e9 Franklin da Silveira, a cordelista<\/em> (a storyteller in the Brazilian folk literary form known as cordel<\/em>), Complexo do Alem\u00e3o resident and member of the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission, waters the garden beds revitalized during the collective action at the Jo\u00e3o Bosco Community Garden. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The day\u2019s cultural activity was a reading of the cordel<\/em><\/a> piece Community Garden at the Complexo do Alem\u00e3o Reservoir<\/em>, authored by Jos\u00e9 Franklin da Silveira, a cordelista<\/em> (a storyteller in the Brazilian folk literary form known as cordel) and Complexo do Alem\u00e3o resident who is also a member of the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission. Da Silveira shared some of the story of how the reservoir was gradually turned into a garden:<\/p>\n

\u201cCelebrating the so-called Environment Week,
\nAlong with a hardworking crew,
\nI heard about the effort and thought I\u2019d lend a hand,
\nThough this kind of work to me was new.
\nWe were there to revive a community garden,
\nCalled Jo\u00e3o Bosco, created in solidarity,
\nBecause nothing here is ever done alone.<\/p>\n

Up at dawn to make my way, I went out of curiosity,
\nTo see the green crew at work, caring for it with sincerity.
\nI like those who protect this part of the city,
\nAnd now I too am part of the Environmental Commission,
\nOf the Complexo do Alem\u00e3o Forum,
\nTogether, they quickly welcomed my admission.
\n[\u2026]<\/p>\n

The place where we gathered is known as the reservoir,
\nIn the past, it held plenty of water in store,
\nFor our people and factories spread out near and far.
\nNo one agreed, but I thought the building was well made,
\nAnd when it was running, its sounds kept boredom away.
\nPeople died, so they shut it down. It was the only way.
\nThe water tank then became a parking lot.<\/p>\n

The front was taken over for policing,
\nSo we gathered on the soil-covered rooftop.
\nOur job was to care for it and new seedlings sow,
\nEight months had passed with no one there to hoe\u2026
\nThis time, we mean it\u2014we won\u2019t let it go,
\nWe restored one garden island and created another,
\nThen cleared the weeds and planted fruit trees together.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Participants<\/a>
Participants in the planting collective action revitalized garden beds atop the reservoir in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, planting approximately 600 vegetable seedlings. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pedro Torres, a geographer at UFRJ and community outreach worker with the MUDA project, explains how the university\u2019s partnership with the community works:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first step is to visit and, above all, get to know the people, see what they want, what they expect, what their wishes are, where they want to be. Then I keep listening and talking, and we look at the space, see what might be interesting, what we think would work best\u2026 Sometimes, everything can be done. So, it\u2019s about seeing what people want, what the challenges are, what will be easier and what will be harder.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

J\u00e9ssica Devita, manager of Agroecological Green Roof, promotes reforestation<\/a> and care for Serra da Miseric\u00f3rdia<\/a>. Another member of the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission, she explains how other local collectives and groups help strengthen socio-environmental initiatives in the community:<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s collective action is part of the calendar of the Alem\u00e3o Environmental Commission and the Complexo do Alem\u00e3o Popular Action Forum, aimed at promoting these spaces, which have great potential to help us work on local environmental issues. We\u2019re always carrying out these efforts in spaces throughout Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, and today we\u2019re working to strengthen this even further\u2026 so that, as a real team, a collective from the community, we can increasingly promote environmental education<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Jo\u00e3o Bosco Community Garden created a possibility for green occupation<\/a> of an abandoned reservoir in the middle of the favela, turning a once-unproductive area into garden beds filled with vegetables and flowers and a space for agroecological work and building collective dreams.<\/p>\n

See More Photos in the Album<\/a>:<\/h3>\n

\"Mutir\u00e3o<\/a>