ABC in palm heart shells

Letters shaped by willpower in palm heart shells. On the edge of the canoe, the alphabet was shaped like the discovery of a world, but without any intention of leaving the Ribeira Valley. Maíra Rodrigues da Silva's voice gains color when replicating the literacy story of her grandfather, Benedito Velho (Benedito Rodrigues da Silva), told with pride by her mother and aunts. The first representative of the quilombolas to become a master at Unicamp in geosciences, the biologist smiles spontaneously when remembering her grandfather's reactions to the pages of the Barsa encyclopedia. “We asked where China was and he happily replied that it was on the other side of the world.” These were the first inspiring lines for Maíra to weave her story as a biologist, public school teacher and master in geosciences inside and outside the Quilombo de Ivaporunduva, located in Eldorado (São Paulo), in the Vale do Ribeira region.

Spontaneous, he recalls the refreshment at Ribeira on the hot day of the interview, in Campinas, but with the conviction that distance is necessary, including, to protect the region where he was born. Maíra's mother, a teacher, and her uncles, also graduates, had to distance themselves from Ribeira since school, as rural schools were also far away. Her mother, like her aunts and other girls in the region, had to leave early to work as a maid in Santos, but even though she worked, from the age of 12, she managed to study teaching and was one of the first teachers in the community.

Everything Maíra verbalizes suggests softness and strength. In 2015, he entered the master's program in geosciences and, with the guidance of professor Alfredo Borges de Campos, from the Institute of Geosciences (IG), and the co-supervision of Sara Adrián López de Andrade, from the Institute of Biology (IB), he began studying the phytoremediation potential of jack beans in soils (fluvic neosols) contaminated by lead, arsenic, and zinc, in Vale do Ribeira. “The presence of contaminants has always intrigued me, so I came to the academy to research contamination in agricultural areas to look for a possible solution to minimize the problem in Vale do Ribeira.”

Maíra arrived in Campinas at the age of 18, in 2010, with the dream of studying and becoming a researcher. From then to here and from here to there, the university extension bridge brought it closer to university students from the Quilombola Community Program, PCQ, coordinated by professor Celso Lopes, from the Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA). With so much to do, she couldn't help but build a network of friends. At this time, she was welcomed by professor Luísa Alonso, who passed away in 2017. Approved in a selection process by the Technological Incubator of Popular Cooperatives (ITCP), she began to develop activities based on cooperativism, self-management and popular education with small groups and cooperatives in the chain. of solid waste, civil construction and family farming, alongside a group of University students. “This contact allowed me to exchange knowledge between young university students and my community.”

“Until 2014, I worked with two groups of women from settlements and pre-settlements of agrarian reform in the Campinas region.” At this time, he was beginning the beginning of his academic career, as, inspired by the routine of the time, he graduated in biology as a Prouni scholarship holder from Universidade Paulista (Unip) and, with researcher Antônio Junqueira, from the Campinas Agronomic Institute (IAC) , researched for the first time the concentration of lead and zinc in Fluvic Neossolos originating from former mining in its region of Vale do Ribeira. As a complement to her investigations, she attended a specialization course in Agroecology and Rural Education at the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (Feagri), in which, under the guidance of professor Wilon Mazalla Neto, she studied Quilombola Agriculture in the communities of Eldorado.

Maíra considers herself a hero for her achievement, because as a black quilombola woman she knows she fought hard for this achievement, but attributes her success to her family. “I would not have reached this stage if it were not for my quilombola family in the Valley, as well as all the generous people who appear on my path, such as my great friends from the extension and outside the university, such as the Campinas family to which I belong today, the Jongo Community Dito Ribeiro, who welcomed me with great affection at Casa de Cultura Fazenda Roseira, and all the other friends I made in Campinas.”

The Quilombo of Ivaporunduva emerged in the 16th century and today has more than 300 inhabitants. According to Maíra, the Vale do Ribeira region is economically poor, but it is extremely preserved and full of traditional communities, such as quilombolas, riverside dwellers, indigenous people and caiçaras. It was there that Maíra learned to “fish” for her desires, but never stopped offering to make other young people’s access to basic rights fairer. His trajectory is always highlighted to students at the public school where he teaches so that they also feel the desire to obtain higher education and, if possible, at a quality public university.

More about Quilombo de Ivaporunduva

http://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/unicamp_hoje/ju/outubro2003/ju233pag06.html