O Trabalho como Princípio Educativo: as Beijuzeiras de Areia Branca – Lauro de Freitas/Ba, vivências e resistências

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes how the artisanal production and commercialization of beiju carried out by the Beijuzeiras of Areia Branca, a traditional community located in Lauro de Freitas, Bahia, Brazil, constitutes an educational principle by articulating memory, ancestry, orality, territory, and resistance. The study seeks to understand how the knowledge produced through the daily practices of the beiju makers contributes to human development, identity construction, and the preservation of the community’s collective memory. Grounded in historical-dialectical materialism and informed by the works of E. P. Thompson and scholars in the field of work and education, the research was conducted through action research, employing open and semi-structured interviews, participant observation, field notes, document analysis, and experiential engagement within the community. The findings demonstrate that beiju production extends beyond its productive dimension, constituting a space for the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, cultural strengthening, and the development of collective forms of resistance. The analysis also reveals tensions between cultural recognition and the material precariousness of the community’s living conditions. As an educational product, the Historical Booklet of the Beijuzeiras of Areia Branca developed to promote the appreciation of community memory and knowledge in both formal and non-formal educational settings.