Community Action and Environment Secretariats unite in sustainability project and job creation in favelas

The Secretary of Community Action, Marli Peçanha, and the Secretary of Environment, Eduardo Cavaliere, in a vegetable garden in Alemão - Disclosure/City of Rio

The departments of Community Action and Environment have joined forces to help the communities of Rio. Marli Peçanha and Eduardo Cavaliere, secretaries of the respective departments, visited the hills of Adeus, Alemão and Manguinhos to map the areas where Community Gardens are planted and, together, work on projects that stimulate sustainability and local employment.

The initiative is part of one of the commitments made by the Community Action Secretariat, which is to promote the integration of intersectoral policies in order to facilitate access to services that will be offered by the City Hall in the city's favelas.

– We don’t do anything alone. And I carry with me the philosophy that says: “We have to be the best, or be among the best!”. That’s how I’m going to work to meet the needs of Rio’s favelas and communities – said Marli, who intends, after mapping all the gardens, to have the department arrange for merchants outside the communities to buy these vegetables, boosting the local economy.

Cavaliere corroborates:
– Our administration will prioritize the areas that most need environmental services, in the North and West zones. Partnerships with Social Action and sub-prefectures are essential.

The Community Action Secretariat is also seeking public-private partnerships to implement its own projects that will integrate other municipal bodies, such as Conservation, Comlurb, Sports, Tourism and Culture, to increasingly give voice and place to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.