The Village Wormhouse : Dom Bosco Institute, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The young people and adults of Obra Social Instituto Dom Bosco (Sao Paulo, Brazil), CEDESP Vila Paulistana Unit, aged 15 to 59, take professional qualification courses during one semester, where the subjects include sustainable training. Besides the course, the students are motivated daily to environmental practices, one of them: O Minhocário da Vila translated as “The Village Wormhouse”.

In the Unit all receive continuous formation by the Educators, especially the instruction of Educator Gerson Rocha and Educator Flávia Sousa, who are members of the Green Alliance Collective of Don Bosco in the House, do the occasional training. In addition, the process of waste separation takes place during lunch, where the whole class is oriented, youth and adults, kitchen staff, etc. The organic waste is separated from the more acidic waste, bark, among others. Once this is done, Gerson separates it and distributes it to the worm boxes, feeding the worms that produce humus (fertilized soil), also generating organic fertilizer, known as "slurry". This liquid is put into the unit's vegetable garden once a week. 

"It is a joy! Our garden already has strawberries, melons, chayote, lettuce, tomatoes, okra, and other herbs and spices. All of this in an organic way and under the eyes of our students, who make observations and reflections about this process, besides being able to taste these productions on their daily meals. Sustainability alive, in practice and in education is what motivates us to go on!" concludes Flávia.