Sinal do Vale Part 1 – Living Laboratory for a Resilient Future

Ethical Markets - RCommunity Development Solutions, Advisors' Forum

Welcome to the Ethical Markets multi-part series on Sinal do Vale, an example of Community Development Solutions which reaches beyond borders. In Part 1, we learn about the vision for Sinal do Vale and the efforts of its founder, Thais Corral. Part 2, “Rio Green Belt Learning Journeys”, focuses on student, business leader and tourist adventures through the sites, sounds, and tastes of an Atlantic Rainforest. Part 3 dives more deeply into student learning experiences. Check back next Thursday for the next installment. Never miss a post by signing up for Daily Headlines on the left column of our homepage. ~ Rosalinda Sanquiche, managing editor

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Sinal do Vale – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sinal do Vale is a vibrant living laboratory for the transition to a resilient future and a 400-acre campus where emerging leaders can learn, teach and evolve their inner and outer skills as change-makers. Nestled in the richly biodiverse and highly threatened Atlantic Rainforest, just 50 km outside of Rio de Janeiro, SINAL is home to an organic farm, a reforestation and community resilience project, and an event, education and retreat center.

Exiting a crowded interurban highway, visitors pass through the small, working class village of Santo Antonio, then wind up an increasingly uneven road through lush vegetation to the gates of SINAL where a cluster of stucco buildings, a large event center and flourishing garden create the human core of an open landscape. Hikers then can continue up and up to a series of lookout points for breathtaking views of the curve of Guanabara Bay where Rio pulses far below.

Rooted in the belief that all change is ultimately local and that commitment to place over time is essential for sustaining meaningful change, SINAL serves as a host and catalyst for people, ideas and projects determined to make a difference in complex, changing times. Teachers and students, interns and global leaders converge here to inspire one another and hone plans for effective place-based initiatives.

SINAL was founded in 2012 by Thais Corral, a renowned social entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the field of sustainability and development, former chair of Lead Brasil, a member of the World Future Council, and a co-founder of WEDO (Women’s Environment & Development Organization).

From this soil SINAL is growing a School for Agents of Transformation for Resilient Communities – a leadership program designed for young people ages 21-35 who are deeply motivated to empower themselves and uplift their communities. The participants are immersed in the burning issues of sustainability through working with SINAL’s projects on reforestation, regenerative agriculture, resilient community infrastructure, and nature-based education in local public schools. At the heart of all programs is the certainty that our work “works us” – as we learn by doing we develop inner resources and relational skills that are the difference between good ideas and great results. Work is love made visible.

SINAL, like the rainforest where it flourishes, nourishes a diverse ecosystem of change-makers – from business leaders to policy makers, from young social entrepreneurs to community locals. People from around the world with differing backgrounds and diverse perspectives learn together while being natural whetstones for one another to grow strong in their spirits and sharp in their work.

SINAL’s strength lies in its commitment to integrating local needs with sophisticated strategies, prototyping tangible solutions to the complex social and environmental problems that emerge in peri-urban communities like our locality, Santo Antonio. Such issues are the result of uncontrolled urban sprawl and are common around the world in major cities like Rio de Janeiro. Through these prototypes in our living laboratory, we are working to address the environmental degradation to forests, water, soil and biodiversity that result from land use mismanagement and unsustainable farming; the infrastructure challenges that result from poor public services for waste-water treatment and trash collection; and the social and health challenges of a growing disconnect with nature, quality food and meaningful human interactions.

In coming weeks on Ethical Markets, we will spotlight the various services and programs that we offer for our diverse community of students, business leaders, policymakers, and engaged tourists.
More information about SINAL at www.sinaldovale.org and our facebook https://www.facebook.com/sinaldovale/

More about Thais Corral and her vision at Global Leadership.tv
http://globalleadership.tv/video/thais-corral-creating-fields-dream-action/?platform=hootsuite