QUILOMBOLA ANCESTRY: A PATH TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN BRAZIL

This study addresses Quilombola ancestry and its influence on environmental sustainability practices, exploring the intersection between the cultural heritage of remaining Quilombo communities and efforts to conserve and protect the environment in Brazil. The research aims to investigate how Quilombola ancestry influences environmental sustainability practices in communities, analyzing the relationship between traditional knowledge, connection to the land, and public policies in this context. The study adopts a multidisciplinary approach, based on a comprehensive narrative review of existing literature on Quilombolas and environmental sustainability. It uses keywords such as ancestry, regenerative agriculture, sustainability, ethnicity, rural communities, and traditional knowledge as a foundation. The research reveals that Quilombola communities maintain sustainable agricultural practices developed over generations, which are intertwined with their own cultural identity. These practices represent an ancestral model of harmony between humans and the environment. However, the communities face significant challenges, including pressures from economic activities such as agribusiness and mining, as well as legal and bureaucratic barriers in the realization of their territorial rights. It is concluded that a more integrated dialogue is necessary for Quilombola traditional knowledge to occupy an appropriate place in discussions and definitions of environmental conservation strategies and sustainable development that underpin the formulation of public policies to strengthen their territoriality and ancestry.