Campinas District, 2016
- Consultancy
- School of Transformation
School of Transformation
A wide range of social solutions and technologies from the Elos Methodology, organised in a sequence ranging from the short to the long term, within the same local area. Courses, experiential activities, community work projects and advisory support all take place alongside one another, until local people are leading the transformation of their own neighbourhood.
The starting point
Every region already has a starting point.
The Culture of Abundance is based on a simple principle: talents, resources and opportunities already exist everywhere, and the task is to recognise these talents and bring them to life with the people who live there. What sets this in motion is the vision that the community chooses for itself, which draws in far more people than a list of problems ever could. Large-scale programmes tend to do the opposite. They arrive with a ready-made blueprint, devised elsewhere, with the objective agreed upon before anyone has even been listened to, and implementation becomes a matter of contract management with a population that did not ask for it. The School of Transformation reverses this order, and that is what ensures the results endure long after the contract has ended.
How the method transcends time.
Four phases structure the introduction, development and consolidation of activities in the region.
01 · Approach
Come in and have a listen.
Participatory assessment and building relationships with residents, community leaders and local organisations. Nothing is planned before this stage.
02 · Momentum
Do it together, early on.
Oasis initiatives and community work parties transform a communal space in just a few days. The local community sees it happening, and those who took part come to believe in the next step.
03 · Consolidation
Training those who will be driving.
Training courses for local community workers, themed training sessions, inspirational visits and a call for proposals to help local initiatives get off the ground.
04 · Influence
Take our place in decision-making bodies.
A functioning regional network, local organisations with their documentation in order and representation on councils and forums, and results presented publicly.
The three dimensions of the Culture of Abundance run through the four phases: potential, belonging and agency.
It happens all the time.
Three fronts run through the four phases, in proportions that vary depending on the territory.
Technical support
Direct monitoring of community initiatives, through individual and group support, on-the-ground presence and remote support. This includes coordination with networks, councils and forums, based on public participation, transparency and monitoring.
Community, political and entrepreneurial development
Training programmes that combine self-awareness, mobilisation and collective action, with content tailored to the aspirations and needs of the local community. Workshops, themed meetings, study visits, specialist training and participation in public forums.
Support for the event
Joint initiatives, specialist advisory services on issues such as sustainability, income and gender, project festivals, and financial support to help community ventures get off the ground.
Arte no Dique Institute, Santos
Elos Connection · aged 14 and over
Young people have their own path.
Programmes lasting up to six months that combine training, active listening, community-based action and psychosocial support, whilst encouraging initiatives created by the young people themselves.
The same method, in three sizes.
It’s always the same sequence of four phases. What changes is how often it happens and how far it goes. The figures are examples of what was included in each phase, and the quantity is agreed upon on a territory-by-territory basis, prior to the contract.
12 months
as long as the local group exists
Participatory diagnosis: an ‘Oasis’ programme involving 20 trained participants, 20 local community workers, 20 teenagers from the ‘Conexão Elos’ programme, and three initiatives launched through a funding call for proposals.
18 months
until the group joins a network
Everything from the previous cycle, plus three inspiring visits, a formalised community group, a regional network comprising six meetings, and psychosocial support throughout the 18 months.
36 months
until the neighbourhood has a seat at the decision-making table
4 Oasis programmes with 80 participants trained, 8 inspirational visits, 60 community workers in 2 groups, 60 teenagers taking part in 4 editions of Conexão Elos, 10 initiatives launched through a call for proposals, a regional network with 15 meetings, 4 organisations with their institutional documentation up to date and a public festival showcasing the results.
Movimenta Baixada, in partnership with Rumo, was a 36-month programme: it involved 9 Oasis Experiences, 27 projects supported through a call for proposals, and the 1st Community Festival, attended by over 200 people from 9 neighbourhoods. View the full case study
A full cycle, from 2023 to 2025
What the School of Transformation has left behind in the Baixada Santista region.
9
Full Oasis experiences in the regions
Movimenta Baixada Report, 2023 to 2025
+850
people took part in the community work days
Movimenta Baixada Report, 2023 to 2025
R$ 150,000
in seed funding for 27 community projects
Movimenta Baixada Report, 2023 to 2025
13
Out-of-court settlements paved the way for repossession
Movimenta Baixada Report, 2023 to 2025
30 minutes of a good chat
Do you have a large area to cover and plenty of time ahead of you?
It has already happened there.
Each case identifies the mechanism at work in that instance, as well as the outcome.
Rumo, Baixada Santista
Mechanism: area-by-area assessment, Oasis Experiences, a call for proposals and conflict mediation, over a 36-month cycle.
Communities that had previously criticised the company have now become partners, with 27 projects run by the residents themselves and a collective of local representatives now in operation.
Educational Centre in Guinea-Bissau
Mechanism: diagnosis, training of multipliers and provision of advice to the task force.
The school has been in operation for over ten years, run by teachers trained at GSA.
Dique da Vila Gilda
Mechanism: training and technical support throughout two cycles of the ‘Warriors Without Weapons’ programme.
A nursery, the Arte no Dique Institute and a community-run fire prevention scheme, all run by the community itself.
Those who have already signed up.
