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A nonprofit initiative of the Instituto Jonas Masetti (Associação Indo-Brasileira de Vedanta Yoga). Free activities for children aged 6 to 10 in the half of the day when they are not at school, focused on whole-child education and social and emotional skills.
To be a real tool for social change, making sure children learn what they need in order to know themselves and to build the social and emotional skills for a happy, balanced life — so they grow up independent, honest and productive, and become the main characters in their own stories.
That Pequena Tribo becomes a model running in many communities across Brazil, helping to raise independent, honest and productive adults who truly bring change to the world around them.
In 2026 we opened our Resource Room, set up to better support neurodivergent children — one more step in the project's commitment to inclusion.
Pequena Tribo in Petrópolis is led by Rodrigo Ribas, an engineer, born and raised in Petrópolis and a student at the Instituto Vishva Vidya. For about five years, Rodrigo has followed the Institute's work and the growth of its facilities up close, taking part in major projects such as the Gurukulam and the Centro Cultural. Since 2022 he has led Pequena Tribo in Petrópolis, where he is responsible for the day-to-day running of the project, for expanding its activities and for putting down roots in neighborhoods across the city — keeping the project going, reaching more children and strengthening its social impact by connecting it to partners, institutions and local schools.
The Pequena Tribo approach is grounded in constructivist and socio-interactionist thinking — Piaget, Vygotsky, Wallon — together with the Reggio Emilia approach (Malaguzzi), Multiple Intelligences (Gardner) and Edgar Morin's pedagogy of unity. The five broad social and emotional skills defined by the Instituto Ayrton Senna are our practical reference.
The main pillar — noticing your own feelings, talents and limits. It guides every workshop and holds up the social and emotional work.
Taking up space, moving and expressing yourself through the body as a living language — the physical, emotional, mental and social sides of a child brought together.
Free creative expression, inventiveness and imagination as the base of whole-child education — present in the stories, the workshops and the daily rituals.
Taken from the framework of the Instituto Ayrton Senna, they are built day by day in the workshops, in the Hora da Tribo circle and in the mindfulness practice.
The routine is carefully designed to hold up these three pillars:
Our method is built on workshops guided by stories and folk tales from different cultures. Rich language and vivid imagination make storytelling a lively and effective way to reach children. Each half of the year the group works with two stories, four in all.
Pequena Tribo works in Petrópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In August 2025 we opened our own building in the Vale do Carangola neighborhood, with room for up to 120 children — a kitchen, a dining room, equipped classrooms and spaces for the workshops.
Since March 2026 we have also been running a new cycle at Escola Municipal Major Júlio Frederico Koeler, in the Retiro neighborhood. Every site follows the same teaching framework and offers the five workshops, the Hora da Tribo circle and the mindfulness practice.
From a pilot in Florianópolis to a building of our own in Petrópolis — the Pequena Tribo story.
The Pequena Tribo project was first put together in Florianópolis.
In October 2022, Pequena Tribo began a beautiful journey in Petrópolis, in the Bonfim neighborhood, at Escola Municipal Odette Young Monteiro.
In December 2023, Pequena Tribo closed its cycle in the Bonfim neighborhood.
In 2024 we had the chance to run our activities at two new schools in Petrópolis: Escola Paroquial São Francisco de Assis and E. M. Marieta Gonçalves.
In August 2025 we opened our own building, in the Vale do Carangola neighborhood. In December 2025 we ended our partnership with Escola Paroquial São Francisco de Assis.
In March 2026 we started a new cycle at Escola Municipal Major Júlio Frederico Koeler, in the Retiro neighborhood, and carried on with our work in Vale do Carangola.
Pequena Tribo is the work of many hands — the team on site, the Institute and its thousands of students, the volunteers and Professor Jonas. One for all and all for one!
Leadership
Educators and interns
Workshop leaders
Support team
