Embrapa Gado de Leite coordinates participatory rural development projects in 16 communities in nine municipalities of the State of Minas Gerais – i.e. Lima Duarte, Santana do Garambéu, Santa Rita de Ibitipoca, Pedro Teixeira, Ibertioga, Carvalhos, Bocaina de Minas and Alagoa, which have smallholder milk production as the main activity generating employment and income - and the Quilombola (Afro-Brazilian Settlement) Colônia do Paiol, in the municipality of Bias Fortes. Of these municipalities, six are in the surroundings of the State Park of Ibitipoca and the other three are in the Mantiqueira Core II of the Mantiqueira Ecological Corridor. In a previous project (Water quality monitoring system, the agricultural and the water resources conservation: active participation of small-scale milk producers and Afro-Brazilian settlements - "quilombolas"), a young man from each community was trained to act as an environmental monitor, performing the collection and analysis of water samples from 17 stations distributed in the study area of the project. The young man then became a positive reference in preserving the streams and rivers that cut the area of influence of that project. The development of this previous project brought experience to the team and grounded the approach proposed in this project. In its course, the previous proposal has proved to be an essential and clustering tool for structuring a strategy of action in the communities involved. This action was carried out by the decisive involvement of the water quality monitoring agent. These agents, through the possibility and transit with the project team and the partners, respectively EMATER-MG (Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Corporation of the State of Minas Gerais), IEF (State Forest Institute) and Schools, were the link to raise or seek solutions to the various possible approaches. This project proposed the work of Local Community Development Agents (ALDC), based on the experience of the team, in the search for a better and greater involvement of the community for the understanding and valorization of natural resources and the hydrographic basin, ending with the construction of a participatory model as part of a strategy for Sustainable Rural Development based on the involvement of local community development actors. The results indicated that technology transfer through youth is effective and can result in positive changes in the understanding and participation of youngsters in the decision making and conducting environmental preservation actions, of water resources, for example, and pollution control. Twenty youngsters were trained in the project; in an interview conducted by the team, it is clear the empowerment of these youngsters, concerning knowledge of content and commitment as well. Twenty-six Demonstration Units of Rural Sanitation were implemented. A total of 13 field days were carried out, distributed in the communities participating in the project. The website includes photos and other information, development history, forum, news articles, news are kept by the project team at the sites http://www.cnpgl.embrapa.br/monitores and http://www.facebook.com/AgentesLocaisDeDesenVolvimentoComunitario?ref=aymt_homepage_panel. As for the advancement of knowledge, a dissertation was developed and defended, entitled IMPACTS OF FAMILIY BASED DAIRY BOVINOCULTURE IN AREA UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE ECOLOGICAL CORRIDOR OF MANTIQUEIRA. Four articles were published in indexed scientific journals. The actions carried out during the development of this work opened a research line for the team focused on rural sanitation and its relation with the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture.