Oasis Experience

A circle of local residents and participants, with open arms, in the middle of the street, in front of a painted wall.

That’s how it goes.

It is the gateway to the Elos Methodology. All seven disciplines are covered, in an intensive and practical way, within the context of that area. It is the quickest way to get community mobilisation and engagement off the ground.

Two participants chatting to a local resident on the pavement whilst listening.

01 · Potential: an appreciative perspective and emotional bonds

Firstly, the genuine connection.

The group goes into the community to see what good work is already being done there and to get to know the people behind it. Before making any proposals, they spend time with the people.

A table covered with handwritten signs setting out the dreams expressed by the community.

02 · A Sense of Belonging: a collective dream and participatory decision-making

Secondly, the community takes responsibility.

Sitting in a circle, with a model and everyone together, the community decides what it wants for itself. This is where the aim of the project comes from.

A newly planted vegetable patch in the middle of the street, with rows of lettuce seedlings.

03 · Taking the lead: making things happen, celebrating and starting afresh

Thirdly, transformation inspires new possibilities.

A collective effort involving both those who live here and those who have come from elsewhere. By the end of the final day, there is something new in the place.

7 non-consecutive days; team and community working together; facilitated by Elos

The Oasis Experience stems from the Oasis Game, Elos’ social technology

A little girl swinging on a tyre swing in the playground built by the community.

The front of a house is being painted with large flowers, whilst residents watch from the pavement.

The Dique da Vila Gilda nursery a few years after the community work project, with a garden at the front.

Children playing on the wooden climbing frame in the new playground.

Sometimes, that’s what a dream is.

What the communities chose, and what remained standing after the community work day.

15 playgrounds

13 squares

10 community vegetable gardens

5 community libraries

22 pieces of gym equipment

14 public swimming pools

32 murals

6,700 seedlings planted

1 community centre

Figures from the ‘Vivências’ series of the ‘Vivo a Praça’ project, across nine cities. In Vila Industrial, Campo Grande, the community chose a new children’s playground, a walking track, an outdoor gym, fencing for the football pitch, benches, tables and landscaping for the square.

And there’s one thing that doesn’t make the list

What sustains all of this from that point onwards is potential, a sense of belonging and a sense of ownership. People who have discovered they know how to do it, who have come to feel at home there, and who have organised themselves to look after what they have built. Without that, the playground is just a playground. With that, it becomes something the community looks after, and which inspires the next one.

30 minutes of a good chat

Would you like to find out more about the Oasis Experience?

Come and have a coffee with us

Who was there?

A line of people clapping, standing side by side, during an outdoor activity.

“I sensed that the residents were less guarded and more curious, and when we reached the climax of everyone’s dream, the models being created collectively, at that moment I was certain that the circle was complete.”

Fabíola, Vila Sapo Housing Association, at the Oasis Community Centre in Santos

A circle of teenagers with their arms around each other’s shoulders, with their backs to the camera.

“I thought I was going to die and wouldn’t live to see all this happen in my village. I’ve been campaigning for the playground to be refurbished for so long, and this weekend, working together, we’ve achieved so much, and there’s plenty more to come!”

Mr JacóChair of the Vila Manoel Secco Thomé Residents’ Association, Campo Grande