Vereda Funda traditional community, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil from 1970 to 2019

a history under the view of the geraizeiro

Abstract

In this work we tell a story of the struggle and resistance of a traditional people, the Geraizeiros, residing in the Traditional Community Vereda Funda, in the North of Minas Gerais. For decades, the community was cornered by the monoculture of eucalyptus, the result of a hegemonic economic model. Thus, its history was and still is marked by forms of resistance in favor of the Geraizeira way of life, mainly with regard to its food sovereignty, its history and identity and social recognition. It is our goal to tell a story of this territory under the leadership of Geraizeiro himself. The report comes from an insider, licensed in countryside education, who rescues his own memories and others through interviews and exchanges of knowledge with residents of the community, accompanied by a guiding questionnaire. We call attention to the struggle and resistance to the existence of this people, endowed with traditional knowledge about biodiversity, crops. The central point in the history of Vereda Funda is the resumption of its territory and the constant struggle against the loss of its biodiversity, loss or reduction of springs and streams, loss of varieties and species of seeds, as well as local cultures and traditions.