QUILOMBOLAS AS “GREEN COLLECTIVES”: CONTESTING AND INCORPORATING ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST, BRAZIL

Abstract

Abstract By reconstructing major events that took place over the past 50 years in a small caiçara village situated within the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, São Paulo, this article explores the issue of environmentality, a process through which local people incorporate mandates of environmental governance and policies, progressively mobilizing and performing the position of environmental stewards. In 2003, this community was recognized as a quilombo reminiscent. The recognition led to a self-division of the community into two groups with around 35 families each. One group maintained a caiçara self-designation, whereas the other adopted a quilombola identity. Using qualitative data obtained through long-term participant observation and interviews with local residents, the article shows that over time, socioeconomic, environmental, institutional and cultural changes, culminating with quilombola recognition, have contributed to an ongoing formation of a “green collective” among quilombola families.

Keywords

• environmentality
• nature conservation
• quilombolas
• ethnic identity
• traditional populations