O QUILOMBO DAS SEMPRE-VIVAS
[A remote ex-slave settlement becomes an international awarded community by the United Nations]
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by ©MiguelPinheiro - Brasil 2018
(all images are copyrighted and cannot be used without written permission)
Edinilza, mother of four, engaging in a chit-chat while the sugar is being processed in a traditional way.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
[artigos / articles in the MEDIA]
on the Portuguese newspaper PÚBLICO [in Portuguese]
Dona Maria nominated for Landscape Hero 2019
_INTRO
In Brazil, traditional communities defend their right to manage the meadows where they have lived for centuries from agriculture and the harvesting of flowers. In recent years, the creation of conservation parks has barred the access to the flowers in the region. A maroon community struggles to return to the traditional management practices that gave the meadows the environmental features still preserved today. In 2020 they received the UN World Agriculture-Heritage Award. There are only 57 of such places in the world. And this was the first to be recognized in Brazil!
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Em Minas Gerais comunidades tradicionais defendem seu direito de manejar as campinas onde há séculos vivem da agricultura e da coleta de flores sempre-vivas. Nos últimos anos, a criação de parques de conservação integral na região interditou o acesso dos apanhadores de flores a seus territórios. As comunidades quilombolas lutam para retomar as práticas tradicionais de manejo que deram às campinas a feição ambientalmente íntegra até hoje mantida. A comunidade foi premiada com o título de Património Agrícola Mundial, entregue pela ONU. Existem apenas 57 lugares assim no mundo. Este foi o primeiro a ser reconhecido no Brasil!
The "sempre-vivas" flowers get this name because they take a long long time to dry. Edvania poses with some for the camera.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
Dona Maria, the matriarch of the family, is the connection between the remote past and today's threats. She's the keeper of the best region's stories, and the center of the whole family.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
Flaviane already knows how to cook, clean, take care of her younger siblings, feed the animals, and picking sempre-vivas. At this remote place, knowledge is survival.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
On the way to grab some flowers in the meadows, while enjoying the silent landscape.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
Animals are still used for most of the field work. Edmar is returning home after collecting some sugar canes. The animals are then used to power the machine that extracts the sugar juice.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
Hard working Amanda! At 7 she already helps the family in flower-picking. Later they will sell the "Sempre-Vivas" at the city's market, about 1 hour bumpy-drive from their territory. This is the only means for the family to make money.
[ Diamantina - Brasil ]
