Educate about Urban Gardening

The program

This fantastic project was created with the goal of providing the residents of one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela (shanty town) communities - Complexo do Alemão, with nutritious food. It aims to teach them the skills to garden and supply fresh, healthy food for their families and community.

Sadly, the residents of Rio's favelas are being targeted by the door-to-door selling of cheap processed food options, an easy option for residents when there are is no vehicle to get to the supermarket and public transport is expensive. Most people in the poorest communities are also under-educated, making them more vulnerable to advertising from the major food and beverage companies. As a result, unhealthy processed foods high in fat and sugar have become prevalent in favelas, and health issues have soared. It is imperative that favela communities have access to nutritious food and learn how to develop and grow healthy food for their families.

Goals of this Project:

• Provide access to nutritious food to the residents of Complexo do Alemão – one of Rio’s largest favelas
• Improve the health and long-term future of some of Rio’s most impoverished people, helping in local schools and the community
• Raise awareness of healthy eating and teach planting techniques so residents can continue the gardens and create more
• Learn and teach about tropical urban gardening, medicinal plants, nutrition and conservation

How you can help

Volunteers are crucial to the success of this program, supplying their essential knowledge and skill in horticulture. This project firmly supports the ethos of ‘helping others to help themselves’ – educating and up-skilling students in local schools and favela residents so they have the knowledge to continue to supply food for their families. These skills can then be passed on to future generations.

While volunteers will impart their knowledge to residents, they will also have the opportunity to learn more about tropical urban gardening, medicinal plants, nutrition and conservation in Brazil. All participants will learn more about each others lives and gain greater cross-cultural understanding.

Volunteers will contribute in a number of ways and can expect to undertake the following tasks:

• Design and deliver garden-based educational curriculum in local schools
• Network with local community residents and local program staff
• Introduce new gardening techniques to youth in the favela
• Contribute to material costs: seeds, soil, tools, and supplies

A volunteer’s work day on this project will generally last between 4 and 6 hours and while we ask all volunteers to be flexible in this regard, a typical daily schedule is likely to go something like this:

7:00am Breakfast at the hostel

8:00am Walk or bus to project site

8:45am Pre-start meeting with project supervisor

9:00am VOLUNTEERING DUTIES START

A tea break and lunch break will be fitted in during the day, but often the timing of breaks will change based on the needs of the local staff and number of volunteers on hand.

4:00pm VOLUNTEERING DUTIES END

4:15pm Debrief with project supervisor

4:30pm Walk or bus back to hostel

Evenings Free time to relax and grab some dinner or explore the sights and sounds of central Rio!

This program is located in one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela (shanty town) communities - Complexo do Alemão - in the northern part of this sprawling city. Rio is Brazil’s second most populous city after Sao Paulo and is symbolized by the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer which stands atop Sugarloaf Mountain and watches over all of Rio. World renowned for its eponymous carnival, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches and of course the 2016 Olympics, Rio has something to offer every traveler. This is an amazing location for volunteers to not only give back to the local communities but to have a truly memorable experience!