This paper presents the implementation of a community garden in a low-income community at Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as a research and extension project, practicing sustainability values. The garden was built in an area that has been made vacant by local authorities due to its geological risk. Three universities are working together in this initiative, mobilizing an interdisciplinary group of teachers and students. The guidelines of the interventions are the concepts of Systemic Design, Agroecology and Solidarity Economy, resulting in surveys, collective actions and discussions about the garden’s principles and its management. Throughout this work, a spontaneous management group has emerged, establishing unprecedented interactions in the community, increasing their social cohesion. For that, the methodologies and references adopted include observant participation and field diaries, as well as participatory action-research. Some challenges have emerged during the process and the reflections are bringing new propositions concerning the increase of the local integral sustainability.

Authors: Samantha de Oliveira Nery, Ediméia Maria Ribeiro de Mello, Rosângela Miriam Lemos Oliveira Mendonça