摘要：It is reported a building experiment on the evaluation of knowledge of agro-ecosystems’ sustainability in Southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, using the theoretical framework ‘MESMIS’ – Frame for the Evaluation of Management Systems for Natural Resources, incorporating sustainability indicators through the application of the theoretical frame to the local reality. It was developed a practical-theoretical course for a multidisciplinary group with an empirical application of the methodological proposal as a participatory way with four families in four different agro-ecosystems. Some common points were identified in the studied agro-ecosystems: three of them showed problems related to the water, fundamental and transversal theme of the multiple dimensions of sustainability, affecting life quality, health, environment and viability of the agroecosystem. The dependency on external inputs, mainly for ecological based production systems and for succession on the families exploring agriculture, also emerged as critical points to the regional family farming.
