Learning outdoors for children of the favelas

In the months of August and September, SINAL has been developing a project on local food with the students of the neighboring Santo Antonio school - the initiative is called "Aventure of Tastes" (Aventura dos Sabores). The goal of the project is to create a replicable model for school interventions focused on teaching nutrition and empowering kids to value local, sustainable and healthy food. The project consists of the students completing several interactive and experimential "missions," participating in a laboratory where they will apply their learnings from the missions, and finally celebrating their experiences with a local food festival. The project has been a co-creation between the SINAL team, the students and teachers of the school, and the Brazilian organization Novos Urbanos.

The first mission for the students was to visit the markets and grocery stores in the town of Santo Antonio to interview the store owners about where their food comes from. Students took photos, videos, and wrote about their experiences using social media. Their second mission was to come to SINAL for a treasure hunt to learn about what can be grown locally in their town. It was a day of exploration for the kids to see what it looks like to produce healthy, organic fruits and vegetables. The students learned about the gardens, the worm compost, and the dry bathroom. They planted seeds in the plant nursery, sang songs about the forest, and matched seeds with their proper leaves and flowers. One SINAL volunteer recalls how excited the kids were to be able to explore the SINAL grounds, playing in the fresh air, surrouded by the lush forest and gardens, which is so different from their small classrooms. 

After the first stage of missions is finished, the SINAL team will work with the students to build a garden and compost in the school, as well as create recipes for the school lunches to use locally grown food. It has been an exciting past month and we are looking forward to continuing to work with the students and teachers, who have all been very enthusiastic and engaged through the process.