Day 5 - Project Morrinha & Coopa-Roca

Day 5 Fri. May 30

* 8:45 am Group convenes in hostel lobby and boards van
* 10:00 am Group meets with Project Morrinha
* 2:00 pm van leaves to meet Maria Teresa Leal Tete, founder Coopa-Roca Rocinha Seamstress and Craftwork Cooperative Ltd.

Favela: Votre

Project Morrinho
General Director Fabio Gavia

Boys age 10-14 2nd generation

Started with one boy who wanted to stay out of trouble so he didn't go to school and started to build a city. This Favela is now the safest Favela in the city of Rio de Janiero.

A foggy day this morning we boarded the van and headed to project Morrihna. This an Art organization that started in the favela. It started with a a boy name Fabio who was afraid to go to school because there was a lot of violence going on. And he wanted to stay out of trouble so he didn't go to school and started using bricks from the favela to build a replica of the favela. After a while, he gathered a group of boys to help him and this project grew to a city and It was a way to stay away from the gangs and violence. He eventually turned it to a an organization and now there is a second generation of boys doing the project.

This is an example of how Art can change your enviornment. Now peop;e from all over the world come to see the project Morrienho. Universities, organizations. There is now a bed and breakfast above the favela. Plus this favela is one of the safest in Rio de Janeiro. The crime has subsided. I asked what caused the drug crimes to subside. He told me that the federal police intervened and had a shoot out with the drug lords. This happened after an investigation of the bus lines that helped aid drug traffic to and from the favela.

But I think it also has to do with the interest of the people. If you have people from all over the world as tourist that want to come see this art work' its in the consulate of Brazil's best interest to make it a safe environment for tourist to visit. So of course they are going to clean it out, because if they detour tourists its a loss of money for the city. The idea that a 10 year old boy can change his whole community by stacking bricks together to make a community is inspiring. Using art as an agent to change your environment as a neccessity for survival.

Copa Roca

By the time we met with the founder and director of Copa Roca it started to rain. I was wondering what the favela was like with rain considering all the buildings have these open spaces almost like swiss cheese the way a storefront with no windows. As we were going up the steep narrow path the water was gushing down like a stream my shoes were soaked. We were also trying to go in a single file line because there were passerbyers that were trying to go down as we go up.

This favela was longer than the last it was a 120,000 people in this community. A city of its own. If Rio De Janerio is only a population of 400,000 that means a 1/4 of the cities residents lived in this favela.

Copa Roca was on the top of this hill. It was one room with bright red windows. It was storming by now and the shutters kept slamming against the windows making a crashing sound. The project founder talked about the things they've done. This woman who was an art education major had a desire to come into this community and teach. She spent months getting acclimated into the culture of the favela. It started by having a cleaning lady invite her on the weekends for lunch which then she was introduced to other members of the community. After learning so much about the people who lived there they soon began to ask about her. And it started by volunteering herself to teach art to the kids with a toy making workshop. And then one day she bought fabric scraps from the garment sector of Rio to make projects. The parents of the children said these fabric samples were too nice to give to the kids and asked if they can use them. And then she got an idea, I'm going to work with the mothers of the community. Because if I work with them, it can help their families. That is when she began to teach sewing techniques and crochet and the group of mothers started making garments. This leads to fashion shows. It led to selling there work. Led to art exhibitions, and this cultural worker used her education and networking resources to bring it to this community. The mothers also were paid for their work. If she was invited to go to Europe, or where ever the fashion show was, she would bring one of the members of the group with her.

They've worked with big time high-end designers and their work has been on runway models and magazines. When Maria Teresa Leal Tete started the program she didn't know where it was going to go an she just followed her intuitiion and her need to listen to the needs of the people to make a better life for them. At one time they were working with young girls and talking to them about there future in efforts to avoid teenage pregnancy. And when the program was gong on they were not getting pregnant but once Copa Roca got busy with other commissions she ahd to let go of the teenage program and the girls went back to the same cycle.

I think it is an unfortunate loss that they couldn't continue with the girls if they did it could be another generation to take Copa Roca furhter. She has been working with this community for 20 years.

Just like Project Morrinha which was 10 years in the making, I think its essential to sustain your program with a generation to take it on which is a challenge for many community leaders to relinquish that control.

Related readings
Article
Community, Culture and Globalization by Don Adams and Arlene Goldbard