THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF BABAÇU COCONUT BREAKERS AS A NON-FORMAL SPACE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION

Abstract

Social movements constitute spaces for non-formal education, promoting learning based on experience, dialogue, and collective action. In this sense, we investigate how the social movements of babaçu coconut breakers constitute non-formal spaces for environmental and scientific education, by articulating scientific and traditional knowledge. Sixteen women from the Quilombola community of Olho d’Água dos Negros, located in Esperantina, Piauí, participated in the research. Data were collected through ethnographic records, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews. The results show that learning the art of breaking babaçu coconuts occurs predominantly within the family, especially with mothers, ensuring the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. We observed the integral use of the palm tree for food, income generation, medicinal purposes, and domestic practices, based on observation and experimentation. The coconut breakers recognize that this traditional knowledge contributes directly to the conservation of babaçu groves and respect for natural cycles. In this way, the practices of the coconut breakers constitute fundamental traditional knowledge for the maintenance of the ecosystem, highlighting elements of critical environmental education in their experiences and aspects of scientific education related to sustainability, especially in the conscious use of products and by-products of the babassu palm.