Cultiva: Healthy Childhoods through culture and nature

Objectives

To promote the adoption and adaptation of traditional nutrition and physical activity among marginalised, Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian families in Santa Catarina to support healthier lifestyles.

Approach

This project highlights and leverages the traditional lifestyles of Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian communities—characterised by regular physical activity, healthy nutrition, and strong community ties—as powerful tools to prevent diabetes and other NCDs in children. It aims to restore the pride in these cultural traditions and promote them as models for all Brazilians. It will be implemented in 6 Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian communities in the state of Santa Catarina.

Key activities include:

• Empowering communities through cultural health initiatives: six grassroots organisations will be trained and supported to design and implement culturally rooted interventions to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity. Activities will include revitalising outdoor spaces, recovering traditional cooking practices and promoting agroecological food production tailored to each community’s context.
• Strengthening schools and families in culturally rooted health education: teachers and canteen workers will be trained to integrate traditional food knowledge and cultural practices into school meals and educational material, promoting healthier habits and cultural pride. Schools and families will be engaged through cultural events (e.g., workshops and festivals) and supported with educational materials (e.g., films, recipes, posters) that promote traditional healthy living.
• Raising public awareness of how traditional cultural practices can shape a healthy future: the project will empower children and youth to document local health traditions through film and share these stories via social media and public events. It will also produce professional films and a parent manual to showcase best practices. Films will facilitate the co-creation of strategies to recover cultural heritage and restore community nutritious food practices and traditions of active play.
• Advocating for culturally inclusive public health policies: development of training resources to support inclusion of traditional perspectives in national programs such as the Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar (PNAE); active participation in policy forums and hosting of events to promote cultural inclusion in primary prevention and education policy.

Expected results

• 120 peer educators (i.e. persons in the community) trained by six community organisations to adapt traditional nutrition and physical activity in Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous communities; 1,200 children and parents trained in healthy living by peer educators from grassroot organisations.
• 12 community gardens established with region-specific food and medicinal plants.
• 18 participatory films created by local children and youth on nutrition and community activities and 6 professional films documenting community strategies for healthy living.
• 60,000 people from the selected communities reached through school and community awareness activities and campaigns.
• Across 18 schools, 36 canteen workers and 36 teachers trained in healthy living, with each school offering culturally appropriate healthy food options.
• 3 million people reached via public campaigns and 1.5 million via social media, highlighting lessons from traditional communities on healthy living.
• 6 policy meetings and 3 national online symposia held to support public policy reform and promote healthy living strategies.