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Coopa-Roca

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Why it matters: founded in 1987 by Maria Teresa Leal (with roots reaching back to 1981), Coopa-Roca is a textile cooperative built to let women in the Rocinha favela earn income through skilled needlework without leaving their households and children behind. Over four decades its artisans have produced patchwork and crochet pieces for fashion names including Christian Lacroix and Carlos Miele, and today the cooperative’s own Centro storefront sells the totes, beaded bags and crocheted jewelry its network of artisans makes. Stop by for a one-of-a-kind bag or necklace, and look for the raw-edge patchwork technique that is the cooperative’s signature.

Favela Tour – Marcelo Armstrong

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Why it matters: Marcelo Armstrong pioneered favela tourism in Rio in 1992, and roughly a quarter of every tour’s price still goes to fund two community schools with no government support – Para Ti and Saci Sabe Tudo – which teach local kids computer skills, English, music and capoeira. The three-hour minivan-and-walking tour (departing 9am and 2pm from hotel pickups) moves through Rocinha, Latin America’s largest favela, and the smaller community of Vila Canoas, stopping at a handcraft center, a hillside viewpoint over the city, and one of the schools it funds. Book directly through the operator’s own site or WhatsApp rather than a generic reseller, and bring small bills for the handcraft stalls.

Refettorio Gastromotiva

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Why it matters: opened in 2016 during the Rio Olympics by the NGO Gastromotiva (founded 2006 by chef David Hertz) in partnership with Massimo Bottura’s Food for Soul, this restaurant-school rescues surplus ingredients and trains young cooks from vulnerable communities while serving vulnerable Rio residents each evening. At lunch, Monday to Friday, the same kitchen opens to the public with a set menu – starter, main, dessert, drink – designed by rotating guest chefs. Order the daily set menu (there’s no a la carte) and go early since seating is limited. It is one of the few places in Rio where your meal directly funds culinary training and food-waste reduction.

Canastra Rose

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Canastra Rose is a two-story Botafogo mansion turned parrilla bar, helmed by Uruguayan chef Alejandro Nunez, with a rooftop grill turning out the sinfonia do assador — ribeye, shoulder steak, and chimichurri-doused sweet potato and pineapple. It’s a proper local hangout: live music, strong cocktails, and a cover charge that depends on whether you’re drinking. Open Wednesday to Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, but it doesn’t really fill up until after 9pm. Tip: book ahead on weekends, it’s one of the most packed bars in Botafogo.

Feira da Glória

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Every Sunday, Avenida Augusto Severo in the Gloria neighbourhood fills with one of Rio’s best open-air street markets (a classic

Feira do Lavradio

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It’s like a tradition. Every first saturday of each month cariocas go to feira do lavradio to buy some stuff as cool clothes, antique articles (from furniture to clothes), craftwork, vinyl records,…

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