The Sustainable Favela Network’s ‘Savory Wisdom’ Roundtable on Favela Food Sovereignty Concludes Rio’s 13th Environmental Film Festival

On August 30, at Arena Dicró in Penha, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, the Sustainable Favela Network’s “Savory Wisdom” roundtable took place, featuring eight community organizers from Greater Rio favelas, all part of the SFN*. The event highlighted experiences spanning the entire food cycle, from planting to consumption, with a focus on food security and food sovereignty in favelas. The panel was part of the closing of Rio de Janeiro’s 13th International Environmental Film Festival (Filmambiente), held since 2011, and showcasing the best of global cinema with a focus on sustainability.

Participating community organizers from the North Zone included: Luis Cassiano from Green Roof Favela in Parque Arará; Valdirene Militão from the Ricardo Barriga Project in the Roquete Pinto favela, in Complexo da Maré, and Fiocruz’s Mata Atlântica program; Claudia Queiroga from Gastromotiva in Engenho da Rainha; and Patrícia Ramalho from Redes da Maré‘s Health Axis and Maré Flavors project. The Central and South Zones were represented by Silvania da Silva from Salgueiro’s Herb Growers’ collective, and Evânia de Paula from Vidigal with her Design and Living Well project. Also present were Anna Paula Salles, founder of A.M.I.G.A.S., a women’s association from the favela of Engenho, in the municipality of Itaguaí, and Aparecida Passos from the Hands to Work Institute, in the municipality of Mesquita, both part of Greater Rio’s Baixada Fluminense region.