[Promoting health in vulnerable communities: social technologies for poverty reduction and sustainable development].

Objective: To report the experience of implementing social technologies in vulnerable communities to foster individual and community potential for health promotion, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Method: The experience reports were collected from July 2010 to June 2015 with 200 individuals residing in vulnerable communities, in Bahia, Brazil. The experiences were reported in stages: 1) Awareness and diagnostics; 2) Workshops on different subjects; 3) Deployment of social technologies.

Results: The participants were notified of the importance of sustainable development and the environmental and health conditions were diagnosed. Actions for sustainable development were planned, with the implementation of acoustic artefacts (natural fibres) and experimental kitchens (homemade sweets).

Conclusions: Considering that health comprises actions that promote the quality of life, the use of social technologies favoured health promotion because they stimulated the potential of the participants. It also allowed the diversification of the community's income source and sustainable development, which reduces poverty and fosters sustainability, quality of life and health promotion.