After a great day at the beach in Guarujá, I went to my first favela (the Brazilian word for slum) today. What was I doing in a favela? Well, I was visiting a non-profit organization called Cidades sem Fome, which establishes urban gardens in favelas and schools. I am very critical of many social businesses and non-profit organizations, but I must say that I really liked Cidades sem Fome and think they are sincerely helping contribute to a better, more sustainable world. Cidades sem Fome transforms abandoned lots in favelas and poorer regions of Sao Paulo into gardens providing local inhabitants with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables and a source of income. A certain number of families are allocated the farmland and they then split the profit and food amongst themselves (Cidades sem Fome just invests the initial money into developing the land and doesn’t take any of the profits from the selling of the crops). During the visit, I visited their headquarters in Zona L’Este, 2 farms, and 1 school where they have established an urban garden. One of the farms that we visited was in a favela in Zona L’Este, and was on land that had previously been an unofficial landfill inside the favela, thus improving that area for the inhabitants.
Cidades Sem Fome also has established partnerships with a variety of schools as well and has urban gardens in nearly 30 schools in Sao Paulo, mostly in Zona L’Este (a poorer area of Sao Paulo). They also have one garden in a school in Jardim Paulista at the Helen Keller School for children with disabilities. In just 8 years, this non-profit has established 21 urban farms in favelas and around 30 gardens in schools in Sao Paulo, which I think is a great feat, in and of itself. If you are interested in learning more about this great non-profit, visit their website here: http://cidadessemfome.org/en/.
A local educational farming project at a school in Sao Paulo.
