Brazilian Favelas Are Overthrowing Colonial Legacies and Carving Out a Future With… Jackfruit?!

Bobó, an Afro-Brazilian stew generally made with shrimp. Vale Encantado’s version is made with jackfruit. Photo: Sana Khan

Otávio Barros, a fifth generation resident of the small favela of Vale Encantado, located in the buffer area surrounding Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca Forest, was elected president of the community’s residents’ association in 2005. Soon after, in 2007, he founded the Vale Encantado Cooperative, with nearly two dozen neighbors, to generate eco-friendly employment for their families. Among other activities that build on the community’s vocation for sustainability is a guided tour through the community and surrounding forest, followed by a multi-course lunch featuring their eco-gastronomy.

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This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas for RioOnWatch.