O conhecimento e uso das plantas medicinais: comunidade Kalunga Vão de Almas (Fazenda Vargem Grande)

Abstract

This paper addresses the use of medicinal plants by residents of the Kalunga Vão das Almas Community, located on the Vargem Grande farm. The research highlights aspects of Kalunga ethnobotany, one of the elements that make up ethnoecological knowledge. Knowledge about the use of plants is strongly linked to the way of life of traditional communities, which are responsible for their permanence in the territory and enable different forms of interaction, such as: food, construction, crafts, ornamentation, medicinal and religious uses, etc. Thus, the objective of the paper is to describe the practices and knowledge about medicinal plants and how they interact with other individuals and with the environment in which they are inserted. In addition, it shows how this traditional knowledge (specifically the use of medicinal plants) constitutes relevant elements for Rural Education, as an area of knowledge and human development. The conceptual basis is based on Rural Education (MOLINA; SÁ, 2012; CALDART, 2008) and Ethnobotany (ARAÚJO, 2014; AMOROZO, 2002), among others. The methodological procedures are structured on qualitative, ethnographic research, based on field experience. As a result, the data collected from interviews with study collaborators is systematized, especially the role of community members who shared their experiences with the use of medicinal plants in the Kalunga territory.