Ara Poty: Indigenous Cooperation for Environmental Education
摘要
The Ara Poty project, developed by the School of Business, Accounting, and Economics (FACE) and the Intercultural Indigenous School (FAIND) at the Federal University of Grande Dourados (UFGD), aims to promote high-quality environmental education, inclusive and equitable social entrepreneurship among 6th-grade students at the Augustinho Municipal Indigenous School and their families from the Bororó indigenous community, located in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The project is based on the intercultural interdisciplinarity of indigenous peoples, highlighting the importance of cooperation as a fundamental principle for sustainable development. We used the Participatory Action Research method, in which researchers actively engage with the studied community to understand its internal social dynamics. In this way, we observed how the integration of scientific, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and traditional knowledge promotes effective environmental education, aiming to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among the results achieved, the establishment of a vegetable garden and organic waste composters at the school and the creation of bilingual educational materials adapted to the local reality stand out. These materials respect the language and customs of the Bororó indigenous community, addressing environmental education and the preservation of cultural identity. The project validates that implementing partnerships between the scientific community and the indigenous community is an innovative initiative that promotes environmental education. Furthermore, it effectively contributes to the achievement of several SDGs, including SDG 2—Zero Hunger and Sustainable Agriculture, SDG 3—Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 4—Quality Education, SDG 11—Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12—Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 13—Climate Action.