Who We Are
The Grease Project draws from the ability and experiences of seven partner organizations based in the United States and Brazil. For purposes of planning and implementation, The Grease Project established a relationship with Rede CataSampa, a network of fifteen waste picker cooperatives in Sao Paulo. Additionally, Grease Project has partnered with Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), a prestigious business school. Incubadora Tecnológica de Cooperativas Populares (ITCP) is a program at FGV that has a long-term relationship with the cooperatives. ITCP works with these and other cooperatives to improve their income generation by hosting workshops and providing business advice at no cost. For the WVO vehicle conversion process, Grease Project partnered with the Boston-based Green Grease Monkey to assist in the conversion design and in the realization of the first vehicle conversion and filtration workshop. Finally, our partner Mr. Paulo Lenhardt runs a local conversion practice in Brazil, and for a two-year retainer fee, he will be available to the catadores for troubleshooting and technical support.
REDE CATASAMPA:
Rede CataSampa is the local Sao Paulo chapter of Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis (MNCR), the Brazilian national union of catadores (waste pickers). The chapter is comprised of fifteen recycling cooperatives with approximately thirty to forty catadores each in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
INCUBACAO TECHNOLIGICA
FUNDACAO GETULIO VARGAS (FGV):
ITCP is a lab based within the prestigious Sao Paulo business school, Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV). With over ten years of experience working in waste picker cooperatives, ITCP has successfully engaged in enterprise development in more than ___ cooperatives.
MIT’S COMMUNITY INNOVATORS LAB (COLAB):
CoLab, a center for community-engaged research and practice within MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, supports social movements, local governments, and businesses, primarily in major urban areas, by leveraging the growing “green” economy for poverty reduction and social inclusion.
MIT'S BIODIESEL CLUB:
Biodiesel@MIT is a student-led initiative that runs a biodiesel processor on campus. The group takes waste vegetable oil from campus dining facilities and converts it into biodiesel to be used in the MIT campus diesel equipment.
GREEN GREASE MONKEY:
Green Grease Monkey is a WVO engine conversion company that regularly offers training workshops in and around Boston on how to convert diesel engines to run on WVO.
INSTITUTO MORRO DE COTIA DE AGROECOLOGIA:
Based in Porto Allegre, Brazil, this institute converts trucks to run on WVO in rural communities.
CRUMA:
Based in the Sao Paulo district Poa, Cruma has ___ member catadores. MORE HERE…
