{"id":68092,"date":"2021-11-12T10:33:34","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T13:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=68092"},"modified":"2021-11-16T01:35:35","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T04:35:35","slug":"the-ancestral-knowledge-of-black-women-and-the-healing-power-of-plants-grown-by-salgueiros-herb-growers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=68092","title":{"rendered":"The Ancestral Knowledge of Black Women and the Healing Power of Plants Grown by the Salgueiro Favela\u2019s Herb Growers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This article is the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, \u201cRooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas<\/a>: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro.\u201d Follow our\u00a0Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas series here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Willows are lovely trees. This is not why the carioca favela is so named, but it makes total sense all the same. Morro do Salgueiro<\/a> (Willow Hill), in the North Zone<\/a> of the city, has a fertile environment where women from the community joined as a group of herb growers. During the Favela-Bairro<\/a> favela upgrading program, many herbs that sprouted naturally, and that were also grown for medicinal and culinary uses, were pulled up to make way for tarmacking roads and buildings sidewalks. In response to this small deforestation, in 2019 some residents saw it necessary to protect and learn more about the diverse species of flora in Salgueiro. To achieve this, the \u201ctias\u201d (\u201caunties\u201d), as they are called in the community, relied on the help of doctors from the Heitor Beltr\u00e3o Municipal Health Center<\/a> to collect technical information about the benefits and properties of every herb that grows on the hill.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Salgueiro Herb Growers Group has been meeting in the traditional Caliel Bakery<\/a>: a family bakery which opened in the 1990s, where the parents of Marcelo da Paz\u2014today manager of the establishment\u2014made bread at home without any machinery. The dough, made of wheat and yeast, was prepared in a big basin, which the owners would take out into the small alleyways and narrow streets filled with their breads and cakes to sell to residents. The Caliel Bakery became a social hub which embraces the community\u2019s culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic, the herb growers held monthly meetings, but due to the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>, the bakery stopped hosting get-togethers. Now, they are planning to start the meetings up again, following the necessary social distancing measures. For the time being, members have continued to communicate virtually, but the group is determined. Thinking about starting a dialogue with new generations, their objective is to catalogue the herbs spread around the favela.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Denise Vieira, known as \u201cEnvironmental Denise,\u201d is one of the founders of the Salgueiro Herb Growers Group. She explains: \u201cI joined the group because of my mother, who was a descendent of Brazil\u2019s indigenous population. She was from Olinda, in Pernambuco state. There were lots of herbs in our garden that always healed us. In one part of the community, there is an orchard with species native to the Atlantic Forest<\/a>. I took children and adults there to replant trees. Fruit trees don\u2019t just feed the fauna, they also feed us, and they all have medicinal properties. Here, we are a buffer zone of the Tijuca National Park<\/a>. The herbs and plants are beings that have souls too. The lesson is that we won\u2019t have a good quality of life without them. Herbs are not only able to generate income, but also wellbeing.<\/p>\n

The objective of the Salgueiro Herb Growers Group is to champion and keep alive the memory of the favela\u2019s matriarchs. They want to show everyone the potential in the gardens of their houses and in the forests that surround the favela. Food sovereignty<\/a> is also a discussion point at meetings. Denise Vieira says: \u201cMy mother died at the age of 94, she made her living running a daycare center and she looked after the children with herbs from our garden. The daycare was in our house. There were no public policies for daycare centers in favelas in 1969. My mom used rope tobacco with alcohol to get rid of everyone\u2019s lice. We used powdered charcoal as toothpaste to clean our teeth. Lady\u2019s thumb<\/a> to treat itchiness. Brazilian peppertree<\/a> made into tea for bathing, to treat mosquito bites. Job\u2019s tears<\/a> to help mothers giving birth. We had a chicken coop and we fed the roosters and chickens leaves. We even have a hundred-year-old abiu tree<\/a> (pouteria caimito<\/em>), a species from the Amazon<\/a> with numerous medicinal properties. And tea made from the leaves of guava trees<\/a> to treat diarrhea. Lemon juice with corn starch<\/a> is used to clean out the intestine. Back then, we couldn\u2019t get our hands on so many brands of soft drinks. Children were healthier because the food was natural.\u201d<\/p>\n