Degredo Science House

The Quilombola community of Degredo has beautiful natural and biological wealth, where the source of sustenance for the subsistence of the community is extracted, such as fishing and agriculture and others. These practices are passed on from generation to generation.

Due to the collapse of the Samarco waste dam, the Degredo community is undergoing several changes. However, the community does not have access to any science museum to preserve traditional knowledge.

The project seeks to offer the community a place to transmit knowledge of environmental and agrarian sciences.
and to encourage the knowledge of science that unites traditional Quilombola knowledge and western science. The project's target audience is the community's children, youth and adults.

The project will be able to take advantage of the content produced by the Quilombo Environmental Basic Plan prepared by ASPERQD - Association of Fishermen and Extractivists and Remainers of Quilombo do Degredo, with programs to encourage cultural practices, botanical documentation and the traditional medicine book of Degredo.

The aim of the project is to create a place where community members can seek knowledge for learning as a way to develop self-esteem, confidence and a future perspective through basic natural science knowledge.

The goal is to be able to create a house of science where we will be able to offer the community research books, microscope for verification, audiovisual exhibitions for the mostly illiterate community, mini-classes, free chat for the public on weekends for visitors to the site. Teaching in general on knowledge of botany, food chain and the impacts of human action on nature and on the preservation of the environment.

My name is Felipe Leite Soares da Silva, I am from Rio de Janeiro, I am twenty-seven years old, I am living in the rural area of Linhares, located in the north of the state of Espírito Santo, I live with my mother who is called Maria Lira Leite and sister named Thaisa Maria Leite Soares.

I am a young man who likes to practice sports, go to the beach a lot, traveling and is always in contact with nature. I have a dream of becoming a good professional and being able to provide my family with everything they struggled to offer me with a lot of effort. Currently, I believe that working and studying has been the best choice to achieve my goals and plans.

My family and I are descendants of a remnant community of the quilombo do Degredo. This community is about 16 km long where it is bathed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Ipiranga River. The quilombola community of Degredo has approximately 500 inhabitants, where they are divided into 12 family trunks, the 12 family clusters are located in the extension of the territory.

The Degredo Community has many traditions passed down from father to son and mother to daughter. In this community we find fishermen in salt water and fresh water, in an artisanal way for their own subsistence. The fishing tradition is closely linked to the growth development of children and young people in the community, where we learn to fish, swim, navigate in a rowing bow, where fishing gear is made in an artisanal way. The community also has a strong link to agriculture. Cultivation of the land allows families to extract their food from the land.

The Degredo community seeks to preserve its traditional dances and festivals such as the Falia de Reis, São Benedito Festival and June Festivals, among others. The main festivity that has been rescued and fortified in recent years in the community is the Dança de Jongo, a traditional dance of the enslaved that is used as festivities in celebrations. Jongo is considered an intangible asset in the southeastern region of Brazil.

In November 2015, the Quilombola Community of Degredo began to face the greatest difficulty in its history. SAMARCO's crime, with the rupture of the Fundão dam, reached the municipality of Linhares and its tailings contaminated the entire maritime coast where the Quilombola Community is located. Since 2015, due to evidence of sea contamination, fishing in the region has been prohibited, which was main source of income, learning, tradition and leisure for the community. During this period, fishermen suffered not only financial losses with the loss of their main source of income, but also psychological ones.

After a few months, the community began to notice that the water coming from the underground pumps was turning completely yellow, muddy, and smelling strongly of iron. The Ipiranga River also started to turn completely yellow. After analyzing the water from the wells in the community, we discovered that the amount of heavy metals was very high, making the water unfit for human, animal and vegetable consumption, making it impossible to create or cultivate in our community.

My story

I'm looking for partnerships

I'm looking for:

science books

Basic science equipment

Exhibition materials: (Datashow, notebook, headphones, banner for exhibition)

Visitor material kit

Create partnerships with educational institutions for exposure methodology.