Daniel Alves

Our main objective is to build together with the Kalunga, and from their history, culture and perspective, ways of creative agency through the constitution of the Terreiro Kalunga. We understand Terreiro, benze”o, medicinal plants and traditional dances as parts of shared cultural models of buen vivir related to spatiality, health and sociability. Therefore, specifically, we aim to: 1) weave together with the research interlocutors the possible meanings of terreiro and the savoir-faires of benze”o, medicinal plants and traditional Kalunga dances; 2) evaluate the social determinants of health and quality of life in a methodological framework of participatory quick estimation, an action research platform guided by cultural interests and community demands; 3) actively collaborate in the construction of Terreiro Kalunga within ethical and emic parameters, encouraging the exchange of knowledge and observing the dynamic character of community’s culture and internal policy. The project arises from the interdisciplinary interaction of professionals from various areas and will be carried out for a year in partnership within the largest quilombola community in Brazil, located in the municipalities of Cavalcante, Teresina de Goi’s and Monte Alegre de Goi’s, in Central Brazil.