The Knowledge of Masons in the Favela: An Approach to the Built Environment of Slums

Many of the inhabitants of the favelas are masons who learned the construction practices in the slums by buildings houses and infrastructures to their families and neighbours. A considerable number of these masons work in the formal city, in formal companies and share their knowledge for the profit of their communities and vice versa. Often, they engage in the constructions of the favela, especially during the weekend and their free time, in order to generate more income to their families. This article focuses on the importance of masons within informal settlements. They are agents of transformation and improvement in their neighbourhoods, and they are important actors in case of a contingency situation. A case study in the Grota de Santo Antonio/ Favela do Telegrafo and in the Favela Sururu de Capote (both located in Brazil) with the use of ethnographic tools will address this topic. The article concludes that the practices and the knowledge of the masons who live in slums are circular and tackle both the informal and formal city and they are based on the capacities and the resources of the communities within this complex scenario.