Donut Brasil bursts into life!

Who we are

Donut Brasil was created in May 2021 as a WhatsApp group and now has over 160 members. 

It comprises representatives from several different states, including academics, students, consultants, NGOs, business professionals, and individuals with curiosity for innovative approaches to thinking and living.

Additionally, we have participants from over 17 movements that align with the Donut vision of a prosperous and equitable society, while also respecting the planet's boundaries.

Our Purpose

"Donut Brasil" exists because there is an urgent need to discover and implement a model that apply and prioritises life. It is our "borogodonut!"

Governance

As volunteers, we organise ourselves into working groups focused on Strategy, Projects, Education, and Communication to adapt and grow according to the members' needs. It responds to the numerous and significant socio-environmental challenges we face locally and globally.

We seek

We recognise and integrate the group's intentions, vast knowledge, and experience concerning common interests, thereby creating diverse communities of practice.

These communities encompass academic exchanges, business support, and the application of impact tools in different territories, as well as free learning.

DEAL principles guide us, and our desires and practices align with the Donut framework while contributing with a Global South perspective.

What we have done so far…

• Researched to understand the group's profile to guide our actions
• Used governance and collaborative tools: Discord and Leantime
• Held 12 virtual meetings, including connection with Portugal

• Held many, many, many knowledge exchanges around Donut dimensions!
• Run a Donut book club

• We Ran three 4 lenses Doughnut workshops:

1.  Penha community (Nov/2021):

The Doughnut Workshop was held in person at the Dicró Arena, a cultural facility in Penha, a peripheral region with one of the lowest HDIs in Rio de Janeiro, located within one of the last green areas in the North Zone of the city. It involved 27 participants, including community leaders, young members of Arena activities, and others related to the area. Through participatory dynamics and using the 4 lenses tool, the workshop revealed common challenges and new ways of thinking and acting on territorial issues. Together, they co-created and prioritized actions that contribute to "living in the Dougnut" based on the strengths of the communities. The prioritized action was the "expansion of community gardens in Penha" to foster healthier relationships between communities, their green areas, and the city while promoting food sovereignty, improving health, generating educational content, income, and occupying degraded spaces. 

2.  Medellin (Apr/2023):
The workshop took place at the Biblioteca Parque Nuevo Occidente Lusitana, in Medellín, Colombia, where it was facilitated by a Brazilian volunteer. It was a project design workshop where participants looked at the neighborhood to think about projects that they could apply to the city's participatory budget. The 4 lens tool was used for a portrait of the territory, and the Doughnut framework to look at which indicators could be improved. From there, an activity was carried out for a rapid participatory diagnosis.
The group had never seen themselves as a possibility of being an agent of local transformation, and for the volunteer, this was the biggest gain from the workshop, planting that seed.

3. Online 4 lens WS (May/2023):
Online and open workshop for the Donut Brasil community, which applied the 4 lenses in a project by one of the group members. Everyone left WS delighted with the simplicity and power of the tool, in addition to the flexibility in its application to different contexts.

• Published a number of articles
• Presented at a number of events:
  1. ABEDESIGN, Comitê ESG (Brazilian Packaging and Design Association, ESG committee) - O Design como impulsionador do Pilar Social do ESG (Design as a driver to the “S” Pilar from ESG)
  2. Rio2C (Biggest creative conference in Latam) - Donut Economy: a new way to see the world 
  3. LivMundi Festival
  4. Penha case sharing in intl forums, as Degrowth Conference and Ubiquity University

Next steps

• Monthly meetings with the community
• Fortnightly sessions of the working groups
• Learning workshops with focus on main tools using real cases
  • Doughnut Unrolled four lenses tool
  • Business tool
• Capture ideas, actions and projects from the group to guide reflections and applications

And if you want to be part of our Doughnut Brasil Community, fill out this form and join our WhatsApp group.  :)

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