Quilombos in Bahia want to win over Brazilian tourists – 02/28/2024 – Tourism

Rota da Liberdade is the name of a route that guides groups of visitors through the quilombos of the Recôncavo Baiano region, in Bahia. Although it was created in 2005, national demand used to be lower at the beginning.

“The only people who wanted to come were foreigners, who gave more value. Brazilians had no interest in getting to know us,” says Tâmara Azevedo, executive director of the tourism agency Bahia Tourism e Arte, one of the project’s partners.

This, however, has been changing with the presence of school groups and visitors interested in valuing the culture of black communities in the region.

The nucleus responsible for the circuit is formed by five communities: Dendê, Kalembá, Engenho da Ponte, Santiago do Iguape and Kaonge — where the project headquarters are located. There are three itineraries: the griô trail, the nautical tour and the day-to-day itinerary, accompanied by Sheet.

According to guide Jucilene Viana Jovelino, 43, the first step is to visit the oyster farm, to learn about the history of this production. Present at Rota since the program’s founding, she says that the project can receive groups of around 150 people per tour.

The itineraries take place between 9am and 3:30pm, but the schedule is adapted according to each group.

The journeys can be done on foot or by car depending on the road conditions — after the rain, the mud on the ground makes it difficult for cars to pass, so it is necessary to travel on foot. At the first stop, visitors can observe what the process of capturing the oysters and then they can taste them.

Cultivation takes place where the Paraguaçu River meets the sea, a leg of Todos-os-Santos Bay, in a system that uses a collector made from plastic bottles. There, the oyster can be eaten raw, served with olive oil or lemon.

At lunch time, the meal is also prepared by the community — generally, dishes such as oyster moqueca or fish stew with banana, with vatapá, rice and black-eyed peas.

Tourists also have contact with the process of preparing products such as palm oil, flour and medicinal syrup.

In the case of palm oil, the bunches are harvested from the tree in the morning and then the fruit is pounded, a process in which it is crushed to release its oil. Then, it is beaten and goes into the water, where the foam that gives rise to the oil separates. The foam is then heated over a fire and contains elements such as mastic, quio-iô leaves and basil.

Another traditional product whose preparation process can be followed is cassava flour — which takes about a day to prepare. In it, the plant is first peeled, grated and its starch is extracted to be used to make tapioca. The remaining product is then pressed, sieved and placed on fire.

In addition to the ingredients used in the cuisine, one of the highlights of the tour is the conversation with one of the matriarchs, Juvani Nery Viana, 72, who shares with visitors her own history and that of the formation of the quilombo. Titled master griô (master of knowledge) in 2003 by the then Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, she is the mother of many of the women leading the Rota da Liberdade.

At the end, a samba circle brings together locals and visitors and ends the day’s activities. Yan Allen visited the place with the intention of returning with his students. “Many of the things I teach in class about the history of Brazil and the colonial period involve quilombos and traditional communities,” she says.

Seeking to get to know her own state better, retired journalist Clara Caribé, 58, took her 13-year-old nephew along for the ride. “We have to know our own history. We read everything in books, but the most interesting thing is to be able to observe. It’s a real history lesson,” she says.

The idea for the project came from quilombola leaders who saw an opportunity to promote socioeconomic autonomy. It was developed by 20 young people from Ponto de Cultura Terreiro Cultural, a program from the Ministry of Culture, who received a R$150 grant to carry out research on the communities where they lived.

At the end of the program, they realized that community-based tourism would be a way to generate income. The work and management of the program are mostly carried out by women — over the years, seafood restaurants have taken control and received recognition for their leadership .

Rota generates around R$80,000 to R$120,000 per year, including itineraries, lunch and product sales, employing around 20 families. Much of the quilombos’ income comes from the Rota da Liberdade. “We work with the solidarity economy, so everything we earn has to be shared with everyone who is working there”, says Jucilene.

In the quilombo, food products such as honey, palm oil and syrups and even Rota da Liberdade blouses and books with the history and records of the quilombo are sold.

The Quilombos do Brasil project is a partnership with the Ford Foundation