Natural Cleaning in the Brazilian Community

Project Details

Year: 2008 & 2009
Location: Allston
Project Manager: Heloisa Galvao, Brazilian Women's Group, Allston, MA
Partners:

There is a concern among healthcare providers that health issues such as allergies and asthma are rising among Brazilians who clean houses in the greater Boston area. The Brazilian Women's Group used a TURI in 2007 to develop materials about toxic household cleaning products and educate the Brazilian immigrant community about how to choose safer products. The Group held focus group meetings to assess and define the needs of the population, develop content, and design an outreach program for wide distribution. In 2008, with their second year of funding, the group educated Brazilian house cleaners and residents about the hazards of household cleaners and helped them convert to less toxic cleaners made from simple ingredients.

In their own words: " We were able to train more than 200 Brazilians and a few Americans who attended training sessions (teachers, event coordinators, etc) about the benefits of reducing the use of toxic cleaning products. The majority of the trainees were housecleaners. In addition we had babysitters and spouses interested in helping their wives, and homemakers interested in cleaning their own houses with natural products, among others. Another outcome of this project was that, while reaching out to the Brazilian community, we got the attention of the mainstream media, such as The Boston Globe and MetroWest Daily News, which reported on the campaign, helping us to expand our area of influence."

Please view the video the project created in English:

Or Portuguese: