Historical political omissions and current lack of access to public services in the favelas generates an conflictive and vunerable environment. This research’s aim is to understand the environmental issues experienced by residents from two slums in Niterói city (Brazil). Based on the actor-oriented perspective, this investigation analyzes the interaction between residents and interveners. The cultivation of plants and animal rearing plays an important role in the reproduction and sociability of one group of dwellers, and is also promoted by interveners, but these practices are juxtaposed with waste/sewage dumps and with the use of forested areas by drug dealers. This paper concludes that a new type of knowledge is generated, which is intercognitive, and it goes beyond just an adaptation or transference of the techniques, since it is a product of a dialogue-oriented process on facing the favela’s contingencies. This shared knowledge is an important subsidy to reflect upon participatory environmental interventions in vulnerable conditions.

历史上的政治遗漏和贫民区目前缺乏获得公共服务的机会产生一个冲突和脆弱的环境。这项研究的目的是了解来自巴西尼泰罗伊市两个贫民窟居民的环境问题。基于参与者的视角，本研究分析了居民与干预者之间的互动。动植物的饲养和养殖在一组居民的繁殖和社交中起着重要作用，并且也由干预者促进，但是这些做法与废物/污水堆以及毒品贩子使用林区并列。本文得出的结论是，产生了一种新的知识，这种知识是相互认知的，它不仅是技术的改编或转让，因为它是面对贫民窟情况的对话过程的产物。