2024-02-21 11:11:00
Within the community, there are owners who already work with trails and waterfalls.
Dona Dete shows how she prepares cassava flour, one of the community’s sources of income (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
The red dirt road, in front of the house of Lurdete Santos Silva, 63 years old, is the extension of the backyard of the rural producer’s grandchildren. With hobby horses and a lot of imagination, they run on the closed section of MS-010, surrounded by a rock wall, in Jaraguari, 47 kilometers from Campo Grande.
In the future, children will have to find another place to play; The dirt road of the highway will be covered by paving, a work that will facilitate access to Furnas do Dionísio, one of the best-known quilombola communities in the State, whose agricultural production is the driving force of the economy, but which is also known for its tourist attractions.
“We have already lived a lot of sacrifice, using ox carts to get to the city”, recalled Lurdete, known in the community as Dona Dete.
In the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Aparecida, Dona Dete’s grandchildren pray the rosary: ”today they tied me in knots” (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
Born and raised in Furnas dos Dionísio, she learned the trade of producing flour and rapadura with her mother, work that is still carried out by the family. The pot and mill are in the backyard, where the flour is produced.
Dona Dete’s production is sold in Jaraguari and at the Association of Small Rural Producers of Furnas do Dionísio, similar to what is done by other families.
In addition to maintaining the tradition in agriculture, Dona Dete is one of the strongest Catholic figures in Furnas do Dionísio. Around 40 years ago, she made a promise that her son would be cured of recurring fainting spells and, every year, she prays the rosary in honor of Our Lady of Aparecida. Afterwards, she built a chapel where the party is held on October 12th.
Reception of the association, one of the points where tourists can buy local produce (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
The faithful take part in a horse ride that crosses the territory of Furnas do Dionísio, then return to Dona Dete’s house and climb the hill, carrying the litter to the chapel. The women make sweets and delicacies, while the men organize the shed where the mass for dozens of people is held. Faith is also present in the evangelical church, which is located in another area of the community.
The grandchildren, by heart and by blood, know very well what their grandmother is like, sweet but firm, like the brown sugar she produces: caught on the wooden horse ride out of turn, when they should have been in the small chapel of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, they had to put the joke aside to pray Our Father, Hail Mary and give thanks for the blessings. “Every Friday you have to pray, but today they tied me up, they’re going to be a little bit punished.”
Production from residents of Furnas do Dionísio is sold at the association (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
History – The community was formed in 1890, with the arrival of the freed slave Dionísio Antônio Vieira and his wife, Joana Luísa de Jesus, from Minas Gerais.
Vera Lúcia Rodrigues dos Santos, 41 years old, former president of the association and coordinator of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality in Jaraguari, says that Dionísio arrived in the south of what was then Mato Grosso in 1890, having as his first stop the region where today is the Quilombola Tia Eva Community, in Campo Grande. “He left his family there and came to reconnoitre here. He liked it, came back and brought his family,” she says.
Dionísio and Joana worked on the farm and she still took care of their nine children. Between 1917 and 1918, the patriarch received the definitive document purchasing the area occupied by his family.
After the couple’s death in the 1930s, the land was divided between their children, who also married, forming families and growing the community.
In 1989 the association was founded. In the 1990s, electricity reached the community, a telephone station was set up and machinery was acquired to improve production.
The territory was titled by the Fundação Cultural Palmares in 2000, with an ordinance recognized by Incra (National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform) in 2009. The regularization process, however, is still pending, awaiting a final ruling.
Vera Lúcia tells the story of the formation of the community (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
In the quilombola territory, there are two schools in operation. The municipal Dionísio Vieira, founded in 1984, offers basic education and the state Zumbi dos Palmares, opened in 1996, offering full-time primary and secondary education.
Vera Lúcia says that a health center will be installed in the community and the project is in the bidding phase by Jaraguari city hall. Vera was part of the 2018 board and was elected president of the new administration, but took leave to take on municipal coordination. She fights for women to be more recognized for the work they do in the region. “I always make a point of mentioning Dona Joana.”
One of the waterfalls inside Furnas do Dionísio, a destination sought after by tourists (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
Wealth – The majority of descendants live off agricultural production, planting lemons, corn, okra, eggplant, zucchini, manufacturing cassava flour and sugar cane derivatives, such as rapadura, molasses and brown sugar. In addition to internal consumption, they also sell to Ceasa (MS Supply Center), in Campo Grande.
Sinval Pereira dos Santos, 43 years old, is a rural producer, growing zucchini, jiló, green beans and okra in an area of 3.5 hectares, being sold at the association and at Ceasa. He never left the region. “For what? It’s everything here, it’s my roots, I never wanted to leave”, he says, saying that his wife even tried to convince him, without success.
Véu da Noiva Waterfall, another tourist attraction in the area (Photo/Personal archive)
Father of two children, admits that it is not an easy task to get the youngest to maintain the tradition. The oldest, 18 years old, lives and works in Campo Grande. “I try to make them like the land, but it’s difficult, difficult.”
Felipe dos Santos Passos, 21 years old, is no exception. He was born in Campo Grande and moved to the territory 11 years ago, when his mother, a descendant of Dionísio, returned home. Today, he lives in Furnas do Dionísio with his family and works in produce production. The dream, however, is to study music and, to do so, he is thinking about moving. But he guarantees that the idea is to return to the community.
Investment – For the general public, however, Furnas do Dionísio is better known for tourism, with waterfalls and trails in a typical cerrado landscape, protected by the Serra de Maracaju.
The precursor is Osvair Barbosa da Silva, 53 years old. “20 years ago a boy came here with my cousin, to visit, and said that I had wealth in my hands,” he said. With the help of a motorcycle club, he opened the first trails, used by motorcyclists and, later, for hiking.
Today, there are 48 itineraries within Chácara Recanto da Ceci, with levels of difficulty depending on the tourist’s taste. Among the tours, there is the Trilha do Balanço, with a path that takes about 1.5 kilometers to a viewpoint, at the top of the hill, and the Cachoeiras route, the most popular. For those who want to know the history of the community, there is the Travessia do Quilombo.
Osvair believes that tourism can be the “heart” of the community, combining the teaching of black culture at school and local agricultural production, which is sold to tourists.
Community center and school in Furnas do Dionísio, amidst breathtaking landscape (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
This path is being consolidated within the association, which has two reception areas and plans to expand ecotourism.
The paving of MS-010 is one of the assets towards this goal. The asphalt will extend from the section of the highway that begins in the district of Rochedinho and continues until the access to the community. Festivals are also part of the traditional calendar and attract the attention of tourists, such as the Rapadura Festival and religious celebrations.
Vera Lúcia says that 41 members and children of members received training to promote TBC (Community-Based Tourism). The course had started in 2020, but had to be suspended during the pandemic period, ending in August 2023.
Trained guides serve tourists and researchers from universities and schools who visit the community. Tourists also look directly for private properties, such as Recanto da Ceci, which belongs to descendants and which offer tours and food.
State school located within the community (Photo: Marcos Maluf)
One of the guides is Declair Santana da Silva, 43 years old, who works in one of the association’s reception areas. He also coordinates the Engenho Novo dance group, one of the historic dances of Furnas do Dionísio.
To the sound of an accordion, guitar and tambourine, the dancers perform steps reminiscent of the mill. “The ancients used to do this dance when they harvested sugarcane to make rapadura. As you dance, as the engine rotates, you rotate in the dance.” The group is made up of 16 members, the majority of whom are young people. “It’s already tradition, it’s part of our culture.”
Declair was born and raised in Furnas do Dionísio. She even left and lived in Campo Grande and rethought her path. “I lived on rent and I thought: ‘if I have my land, my little corner, why am I going to suffer here? Then I left,” she said. “Here for me is everything, my place,” she said.
Presentation of children during one of the editions of the Rapadura Festival (Photo/Personal archive)
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