Diálogo de saberes e práticas bioculturais como dispositivos de autonomia socioambiental em territórios tradicionais rurais do estado do Paraná

Abstract

The performance of capital in rural areas of underdeveloped countries are quite aggressive, because in addition to expropriating peasants from their lands, they also work to delegitimize their knowledge — material and symbolic violence. The hegemonic system imposes a technological framework on the countryside, based on the use of a small number of workers, environmentally unsustainable practices, and the use of large areas of land. In addition to resulting in a very homogeneous rural landscape, which in the case of the state of Paraná is predominantly occupied by plantations of products destined for export and reforestation with exotic trees, also aims to homogenize the way of life of the rural population. Thus, an entire framework of historically accumulated knowledge — systems of biocultural practices, which are based on traditional knowledge and practices — is ignored and often decimated. In face of this process of coloniality of power and knowledge, the impact of these actions is immeasurable, as the people of a country lose part of their material and incorporeal heritage. Seen in this term, the general objective of this work is to understand to what extent the dialogue of knowledge between biocultural practices and other knowledge can enable socio-environmental autonomy in traditional rural territories of Paraná, in the face of the dialogue of knowledge, in the context of territorialization of development projects and technologies in rural areas. To this end, the research included characters who occupy traditional and rural territories in the central-south of the state and who participated in participative action projects coordinated by the Interconexões Research Group (UEPG), that by means the dialogue of knowledge, create strategies seeking socio-environmental autonomy. Therefore, in order to measure and analyse the different degrees of autonomy, based on Floriani and Floriani (2020), a qualitative and quantitative methodology was created and applied that covering the environmental, territorial, cultural and economic dimensions, which comprise 68 indicators. From this vantage point, it was found that the characters which comprise the research adheres to the highest degree of autonomy, that even in the face of several obstacles imposed on them, they create strategies based on the development of their traditional activities, aiming to minimize co-optation by agents linked to large capital, while demonstrating the possibility of coexisting with the current system in force, and, furthermore, it was possible to identify the weaknesses and potentialities related to each territory, as well as to map the geographies and conflicts existing there.