OFICINA DA MATA

The Woods Workshop

The project ​Oficina da Mata​ aims to map and connect different experiences of art education, agroecology, and transmission of traditional knowledge in rural communities in an area known as Maciço do Baturité, in the countryside of the state of Ceará. It hopes to do so through the creation of an interactive digital platform. The name Oficina da Mata points to the desire of creating convergence between the different practices found in these communities and the possibility of creating pedagogical ways to preserve and transmit this knowledge. The platform will be a space for gatherings, dialogue, research, and exchanges between the many projects from this region, relying on the sharing of their creative and pedagogical processes and in the strengthening of their community practices.

Oficina da Mata is a project that intends to map and connect different projects of agroecology and art education as well as spaces for the preservation of local cultures and traditional knowledge found in many rural communities of Maciço do Baturité, a mountainous regions in the countryside of the state of Ceará. The goal of the platform is to connect these Community projects in a network that allows exchanges, dialogue, and partnerships (all digital, for now) between the many artistic, cultural, educational, and agroecological initiatives of the region.

Throughout the Emergency Lab, We contacted actors of at least six projects located in different places of Maciço do Baturité to talk about the idea of the website and listen to their impressions, suggestions, demands, and ideas, ensuring that the operation meets the needs of each project. Through conversations between the team and some of these actors And by learning about how the internet is used in the region, we listed fundamental aspects that must be addressed by the design, functionality, and navigation of the platform. The Prototype was created at the lab and we now face the task of structuring the platform with the information and materials we gradually receive from each project, in addition to continuing the mapping of project and enlisting them on the website.

We will intensify the conversations and exchanges with the participants of these experiences this week, proposing a permanent Network and dialogue beyond the website itself. This might be a way to maintain a level of activity and movement in a space devised precisely to foster these connections.

VISIT THE PROJECT WEBSITE: http://oficinadamata.com/