Angeli Oliveira

​

A Paraty local with strong ties to farm life, Angeli is an entrepreneur at the Paraty Farmers’ and Creative Economy Market, where she sells her own blends of herbs and seasonings. Well known among local cooks, her products can be found in shops and restaurants throughout the region. A guardian of traditional knowledge, she creates aromas and flavors drawn from a life rooted in the land. Her work weaves together memory, soul, and experimentation.

​

​

Adalberto Lapa Pinto
 

Born in the community of Barra Grande, Adalberto is a farmer and market vendor with a deep connection to the land since childhood — he learned to grow cassava and make flour from his father. He farms using certified agroecological methods, cultivating cassava, bananas, coconuts, and a variety of fruits. A member of the Rural Producers Cooperative of Paraty – Pacová, he participates in Fazenda Bananal’s Cultivar Program, where he is known for his sustainable cultivation of juçara, cacao, and mushrooms.

​

​

João Paulo de Amorim dos Santos
 

A resident of Quilombo do Campinho, Seu João is a guardian of the traditional knowledge and practices of cassava cultivation and flour-making, which he keeps alive through his family’s flour house. With extensive farming experience, despite working other jobs throughout his life, he participates in Fazenda Bananal’s Cultivar program, where he is known for his expertise in cacao cultivation and bean fermentation — a technique that enhances the quality of finished products.

 

​

Valdevino dos Remédios
 

Mr. Valdevino is one of the most respected figures in traditional agriculture in Paraty. A well-known raizeiro (herbalist), he prepares medicinal infusions and natural remedies, which he sells at the rural producers’ market. A founding member of the Rural Workers’ Union, he took part in the struggle for agrarian reform and continues to grow cassava, beans, and fruit on his plot of land. He was a friend and collaborator of the late Mr. Pindoca, helping him build the first flour house in Graúna, renowned for a flour still fondly remembered today. He hopes to revive his own flour house, now dormant.

​

​

Norival Moreira Souza
 

A rural producer and one of the founders of the Agroecological and Organic Production Association of Paraty (AAPOP), Mr. Norival proudly lives and breathes family farming. For him, the land is synonymous with identity and livelihood. He supplies produce for school meals and sells directly to consumers, building a connection with those who eat what he grows. With support from fellow AAPOP members, he reactivated his family’s flour house, preserving knowledge passed down from his grandparents and continuing his family’s flour-making legacy.

 

Bráz Alonso

A rural producer born in Paraty, Bráz learned traditional flour-making and land stewardship from his parents — knowledge he now passes on to his children. He devotes himself to growing bananas, cassava, yams, and other crops. A member of the Agroecological and Organic Production Association of Paraty (AAPOP), he played an active role in the communal effort to rebuild the flour house of his longtime friend, Mr. Norival.

​

​

César Marcos
 

A rural producer and member of the Agroecological and Organic Production Association of Paraty (AAPOP), César arrived in Paraty decades ago as a teacher and transformed his farm, Sítio Capiau, into a place for cultivating both land and knowledge. He supports communal efforts such as cooperative work days and farmer exchanges, which foster dialogue between traditional knowledge and contemporary agroecological thinking.

 

​

Edemilson de Souza

​

A rural producer born in Paraty, Edemilson is a member of both the Rural Producers Cooperative of Paraty – Pacová and the Agroecological and Organic Production Association of Paraty (AAPOP). Together with his wife, Jovania, he makes a living through organic farming on their property in Barra Grande. He is known for the wide variety of bananas he grows — prata, da terra, nanica — as well as for his cultivation of hearts of palm and other crops that have been passed down through generations, including cassava.

​

​

Israel da Fraga Filho (Colmeia)
 

Known as Colmeia, he is a Paraty-based farmer with roots in the land dating back to his youth. An active member of the Agroecological and Organic Production Association of Paraty (AAPOP), he helped rebuild Mr. Norival’s flour house. He grows traditional foods like bananas, cassava, yams, and other edible plants — now alongside his children, who are beginning to explore a life connected to the land.

 

​

Adão Alves Pacheco

​

A caiçara leader from Rio Pequeno, Paraty, Adão is a community organizer engaged in defending traditional caiçara ways of life. He is actively involved in efforts that celebrate the tangible and intangible heritage of caiçara knowledge and practices, which shape Paraty’s identity and culture.

​

​

José de Alcântara (Zequinha)

​

Born in Rio dos Meros, Zequinha moved to Rio Pequeno as a child with his family. There, he grows several varieties of cassava and devotes himself to weaving baskets, including jacás (carrying baskets). He runs a flour house that serves as both a workspace and a gathering spot for the caiçara community of Rio Pequeno.

​

 

Norival Carneiro

​

Norival and his family carry on the flour-making tradition begun in the early 20th century. Even after fulfilling their father's dream of producing cachaça — founding the Engenho D’Ouro distillery — they have kept the family flour house running, selling its products on-site. They also maintain a small museum on the property that preserves memories of rural life in times past.

​

​

Victor Hugo Massine

​

Originally from Nova Iguaçu, Victor has lived in Paraty for nearly twenty years, where he maintains a small family farm. He first came to the region to work as a teacher, a role he still balances with farming. He learned traditional cultivation techniques from older generations. As president of the Rural Producers Cooperative of Paraty – Pacová, he defends, shares, and promotes traditional ways of farming and living. 

​

​