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Brincadeira Sustentável: art, the epistemology of play and sustainability in building learning experiences
A Brazilian initiative bringing together art, education, creativity, inclusion and sustainability since 2013.
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Brincadeira Sustentável is a Brazilian initiative that researches, creates and shares educational experiences, understanding play as a form of knowledge, expression and the development of human possibilities. Founded in 2013 by Renata Bravo, an artist, craftsperson, environmental educator and researcher, the project grew out of the relationship between art, experimentation and the transformation of materials, gradually broadening its approach to encompass environmental education, financial education, interdisciplinary learning, inclusion, accessibility and assistive technology.
Its origins are linked to a personal experience of overcoming adversity. While recovering from a multiple sclerosis relapse that caused neurological and motor impairments, Renata Bravo began using hands-on creative activities as part of her motor and psychomotor exercise routine. Drawing, working with outlines, cutting with scissors, observing shapes, concentrating and making objects engaged different abilities and possibilities for movement. Gradually, improvements in eye, trunk and arm movements were observed. Part of this journey and the results achieved were documented on the blog, forming one of the foundations of the project's development.
Read the accounts of this journey:
From this experience, Brincadeira Sustentável developed an understanding that goes beyond conventional ideas of recycling. Transforming one material into another is not simply a matter of reusing resources: it involves perception, inquiry, imagination, planning, coordination, aesthetic development and the creation of new meanings. Packaging can cease to be merely packaging and become an artistic object, an educational resource, a scenic element or the starting point for an inquiry into nature, society and culture.
This perspective underpins the concept of the Epistemology of Play and Sustainability: play is not treated merely as entertainment or a supplementary activity, but as an experience through which children observe, experiment, establish relationships, formulate hypotheses, create and construct knowledge. Learning takes place through interaction between the body, thought, the environment, materials and other people.
The project brings together ideas that explore different fields of knowledge, using art and culture as frameworks for development and participation in early childhood education. Experiences include three-dimensional constructions, educational scale models, sculptures, installations, sensory experimentation, environmental investigations, narratives and activities that bring science, nature, local places and everyday life together.
Sustainability is approached through an understanding of material cycles, transformation, conscious consumption, financial education and the relationships between people and the environment. The project encourages reflection on the value of resources, planning, consumer choices, waste, reuse and the responsible use of materials. In this context, financial education goes beyond understanding money and involves developing conscious attitudes towards needs, desires, purchasing possibilities and the use of available resources. The aim is not simply to teach children to separate or reuse waste, but to expand their ability to observe the world, recognise possibilities, make responsible decisions and understand the environmental, social and economic impacts of human choices.
Inclusion and accessibility are also integral to this approach. The project considers that different ways of perceiving, communicating, interacting and participating need to be taken into account when planning educational experiences. In this context, assistive technology and accessibility resources can broaden opportunities for engagement and learning while respecting each child's characteristics and needs.
The approach also engages with philosophical and educational reflections, particularly those of Martin Heidegger and Frank Laubach. These connections help us consider experience, existence, learning, living together and the construction of knowledge beyond the mere transmission of content. From this perspective, play is not something that can be taught through instructions alone: it is an experience that must be lived, processed and internalised.
Over the course of its development, Brincadeira Sustentável has gathered research, visual records, educational projects and creative experiences for educators, early childhood professionals, families and people interested in the relationships between art, education and sustainability.
Rather than simply presenting ready-made activities, the initiative seeks to share creative processes and possibilities for inquiry, valuing autonomy, imagination, experimentation and participation. Each idea offers an opportunity to recognise that materials, spaces and everyday situations can acquire new meanings when approached through creativity.
Brincadeira Sustentável: you take one thing and turn it into another. It is not just recycling. It is art!
Since 2013, a journey dedicated to research, creation and valuing play as an experience of learning, expression and transformation.
Discover the project:
Research, concept and author: Renata Bravo
Artist, craftsperson, environmental educator and researcher.
The rehabilitation account is the author’s personal testimony, not a therapeutic recommendation.
