Sobradinho

The “sobradinho” cortiço, is a house near Av. 23 de Maio that has been abandoned for almost 30 years, and something like 15 years ago they started to occupied. There´s 20 rooms there, 13 upstairs and 7 in the ground level, where live 70 people over there. They are finishing a reform now that they entered with a “usucapião” process. They connected the lights, and for that payed almost R$30.000,00. Also, they are fighting for water supply and sewage system.
It´s a in the heart of the city of São Paulo, so they have public transport, school, and hospitals for all them.
Most of the people who live there came from Pernanbuco, and most of them work in informal jobs in the center, about 90% of them are ambulantes. They have a strong sense of community and organization, since they got together to solve the cortiços problem it got a visible improvement, each resident reformed they room, which are big if compared to other cortiços, each one has a bathroom and a kitchen only for the unit. So, as they see that the place is really getting better they resolve to improve their rooms.
They have a common space that is a long corridor, where you find the unit doors, and where the kids usually play. There´s a door in the front, and each resident has a key, this door is usually open during the day and closet at night.

Interview: Ana Claudia
She is 21 years old, lives with her daughter (6 months) , her husband and a brother. It´s almost 3 years that she is living at this cortiço. She and her family are from a city called Orobó in Pernanbuco.
She came here to work, so now she´s working at a shop in the center, and so are her husband and brother. Her husband came first and it´s been 5 years that he lives in SP and in this cortiço. They came here looking for a job, and she intends to come back to Pernanbuco in 10 years, so they are saving some money to came back there and buy a house. She likes SP but said that is a city for a job, and not for family, she miss her parents in Pernanbuco.
Her little daughter stays with a neighbor when she is working, and this is the thing she likes of this cortiço, everybody is friendly and helps each other.
In Pernambuco she studied to become a teacher, and maybe when she returns there she´ll teach in some school.
They ´ve been improving their unit, and now with the little girl she has plans for the next improvements for the children safety.
She likes the place, it´s comfortable and near everything, and with the guarantee and they´re staying there more improvements will be done to let the cortiço and her house with even more self identity.