The self-building potential of adaptable bamboo structures is the focus of this work that is aiming to enlarge the concept of design as a projetual method with emphasis on the process rather than the end product and as a producer of meanings, which can generate autonomy groups in a local production based in the environmental education / sustainability. The adaptability of these structures is a central concept where the object and its constructive process is determined by local conditions of material, labor and demand of use. The design field was established in Brazil in accordance with the perspective of industrial design in developed countries that prioritizes the production, distribution and marketing of large-scale objects. In this context the projetual activity fails to focus on the human being necessities to devote to mass consumption. We believe that through the design is possible to form citizens aware of global environmental issues leading them through participatory methodologies developed in LILD PUC-Rio. The academia (universities and schools) is presented as favorable geographic context for the application of these methodologies that are based on the autonomy of groups for the production of utilitarian objects locally. The local / regional level is the starting point for the design of object design, determining material resources available, use, social demands and cultural aspects. We are highlighting the methodology of Techniques & Coexistence where technicians-teachers guide the students-volunteers in the design, construction and use of adaptable bamboo structures in various applications. In this process the volunteers are co-authors and are led to think the object starting from his lifecycle - design, manufacture, use, maintenance and disposal / post-use. Bamboo is an accessible material; high strength with versatility to be applied to various uses and is explored here for structural purposes. The transdisciplinary approach involving the fields of design, architecture, engineering and geography leads to a complex analysis of the construction process and the final object, contextualizing the production space. In field studies in Brazil and the United States we concluded that this concept of design based in the local/regional production lined in the environmental education / sustainability, has great accessibility and can be enhanced from the transdisciplinary collaboration to other uses in society and is focusing on education, productive autonomy or diversified use of adaptable structures of bamboo.