Cultural practice of making cuia handicrafts: registration of environmental knowledge

Abstract

This text results from our experiences in research work with some family units in the community of Rio Quianduba, municipality of Abaetetuba / PA. From a qualitative approach and with the use of an in-depth interview, the article describes some forms of cultural knowledge produced by women living in riverside areas in the context of the production of handicrafts in the gourd. The results reveal that in the sexual and social division of labor, this activity developed for many generations in the locality is carried out, almost exclusively by women, and that even though it has an economic, symbolic and medicinal importance, it is gradually losing interest, especially among the workers. young people who do not value it as a socioeconomic job. The study reflects on the importance of preserving this knowledge, since it contributes to the dynamization of environmental educational processes in the family and community context, and, in addition, giving visibility to this knowledge implies breaking and overcoming the understanding of the reality that prejudicedly classifies these people as backward and their knowledge as minor and / or worthless, thus providing opportunities for respectful attitudes towards them and their cultural knowledge.