THE USE ROCKS: AN ECO-TECHNOLOGY CAPABLE OF IMPROVING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF QUILOMBOLAS COMMUNITIES
Kleysson Garrido Rego, Suzi Huff Theodoro and Lúcia Lopes
The Quilombos are one of most important and strongest form of opposition at the slavery regime which occurred at the colonial period perpetuating until the imperial time in Brazil.
It is very common today, at the debates and political statements, bring the argument of social debts that Brazilian society has with the black communities. The affirmative actions and the public policies to correct these social debts have recently started, but only timidly.
Despite of the extraordinary potential of development of these communities, they were excluded from national social-economic development - mainly because of their African slave descendency and as a rural community promoting a profound process of social and personal vulnerability.
For that, there is a double challenge, using this already available potential on these communities through innovative technological process, and at the same time, rescue the social debts.
The objective of this project is to incorporate technologies, such as rocks and the bio-diesel which can multiply results, obtaining a production with less demanding of natural resource, and the most important, maintaining the small farmers on their land with autonomy.
The project also plan to disseminate a process which it can incorporate economic value, on sustainable basis, using the local vocation and also use the rural space to improve local knowledge and promoting new paradigms.
The project will be implemented on the following Quilombos communities: Quilombos of Barra, Bananal e Riacho das Pedras (Foto 1), at northeast of Rio de Contas City, southeast region of Bahia State. On the total of these communities there are 198 families on harsh situation of poverty. They live on the subsistence agriculture using the low damp of the Brumado River, their average income does not go over R$ 12,00/montly (4 US dollars/month). The program, recently has been included a partnership with the Secretaria de Combate a Pobreza e as Desigualdades Sociais from Bahia State SECOMP. This State Organization is willing to work the communities of Rio de Contas, and amplify to 10 more quilombolas communities located on Irecê region (northeast of Bahia State) and at Recôncavo Sul (southeast) ( see map 1) where the difficulties are even worse.
The procedures used are based on methods adapted from research done on small production units in Minas Gerais State and Distrito Federal. After being selected, rejects from quarries (Petrofertilizante), are incorporated into the soil. All the activities will be regularly monitored during the time of the project. They will be evaluated, measured and used as a model for improvement in other communities.
Any action implement will be preceded by a participatory diagnostic method to identify the potential, needs and productivity of land. The procedure also included capacity building on administration, commercialization and cooperative organization focusing on the program sustainability.
The final results are to improve the livelihood of Quilombos where the changes and improvement are done by their request where family agriculture plays a major role combining the necessity of doing agriculture or rural sustainable development integrate with urban areas and society in general preserving the specificity of these communities.
These Quilombos communities which always had a strong relation with land and the natural resources as a multiple feeling of home and refuge will be able to find their land appropriate system of production using their systemic vision looking for their inclusion on the socioeconomic sustainable market
The alternative technology, social, economic or cultural tolls are important once will release them from abandon and suffering from their past heritage and include them on the actual process of changing.
Another aspect is to stop the rural exodus, provide strong locals links and improve the value their community self-esteem on sustainable basis and make possible their social and economical inclusion. These are important tools to improve their livelihood, change their personal and social vulnerability and their livelihood.