AGROBIODIVERSITY IN GUARANI-NHADEWA COMMUNITIES OF NORTHERN PARANÁ: MEMORY AND REDEMPTION

Abstract

The management of traditional varieties of seeds among indigenous communities have been receiving increasing attention for the past years. This research examined agrobiodiversity in the Laranjinha Indigenous Land, in northern Paraná State, inhabited by the Guarani-Nhandewa people. The study analyzes the local memory about the various indigenous seeds, their characteristics and uses, as well as agricultural practices. We also verified their intention to recover agrobiodiversity practices and major difficulties to do so. The Feiras de Trocas de Sementes Crioulas e Tradicionais Indígenas (Traditional and Indigenous Seeds Exchange Fairs), held yearly since 2011 in the Pinhalzinho Indigenous Land, also in northern Paraná, is a new collective strategy for recovering biodiversity, for it reorganizes efforts (individual until then) in finding seeds and producing traditional varieties of rice, beans, sweet potatoes, cassava, maize, and other foods. Revaluation of agrobiodiversity fortifies cultural identity and contributes to rebuild the collective organization.