Utilização dos saberes locais da mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) para o ensino de ciências

Abstract

Manihot esculenta Crantz (cassava) is a shrub present in tropical countries, whose roots are considered a resource for subsistence and income generation for rural communities. This study aims to promote interdisciplinarity between local and scientific knowledge by characterizing the cassava flour production chain, as a tool to facilitate the teaching and learning process in Science. With a descriptive character, with a qualitative and quantitative approach, the study was conducted in the rural community Caduzinho, in José de Freitas, Piauí. Informants were selected using a random probabilistic sample. Participatory methods and semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect socioeconomic data, local botanical knowledge, the cassava flour production chain and the transmission of that knowledge. Around 174 residents live in the rural community of Caduzinho. The sample of interviewees corresponded to 36 informants, 21 men and 15 women. The cassava production chain has three segments: planting, artisanal processing and marketing. Through data collection, the relationship between the informants' knowledge and content worked in the science discipline was observed, associating popular knowledge with specific content in the area. The contents were related to skills foreseen in the BNCC for the production of an educational booklet. The characterization of the production chain provides interdisciplinary work in the classroom, working on everyday aspects of family farming, in addition to sharing local knowledge.