“The miners knew the trails through the mountain, but worked there just to survive. (…) their sons became guides, fire fighters, and agents for preservation. In just one generation, there was an incredible change in the outlook of the local inhabitants: from brute exploration to preservation! Tourism evolved to guarantee income for their families (…)” (Roy Funch, in an interview for the Guia da Chapada Diamantina.)

Diamond Highlands

The Chapada Diamantina (Diamond Highlands) is a wonderful place to visit.

2017/09/03

History of the Forests in the Mining Region

Gilberto is an old-time diamond miner (garimpeiro), as was his father and grandfather, going back in time (almost certainly) to the slaves who were brought in to work the mines (Brazil only fully abolished slavery in 1888). I've known Gilberto for years, and he can usually be found at a friend’s house at the foot of the hills. He spent most of his life living in a crude rock shelter in the mountains near his diamond claim, and feels much more at home away from the "big city"...

2016/09/27

Carbonados.

Image: Wikipedia I sing the praises of carbonados. The jewelry-class diamonds found in the Chapada Diamantina made it rich and famous (at least in its time), but the most important legacy of the region has actually been almost forgotten – the carbonados! The shiny beauty of diamonds brought thousands of miners and camp followers to the Chapada Diamantina starting about 1844 (just a few years before the famous California gold rush). Boomtowns popped up in every corner...

2016/04/07

Mucugezinho.

I went with Dr. Mark Barringer, chairman of the History Department of the Stephen F. Austin State University (Texas), to visit some old miners’ shelters at a place called “Café-sem-troco” = “coffee, but no change”*. The name dates to the time when the federal highway was being constructed (in the late 1950s/early 60s) as part of the many infrastructure investments that accompanied moving the Brazilian capital from Rio de Janeiro to the interior of that country. Brasília was...

2016/03/12

Acaba-Saco.

To the Corrego Acaba-Saco Creek  (March 1, 2006) We went by car to the small village of Barro Branco, in the hills just a few kilometers north of the town of Lençóis. This had been a busy outpost during the diamond era but, like the rest of the region, slid slowly inexorably into decadence as the diamonds became fewer and farther between. By the time I arrived in Lençóis in the late 1970’s there were only about half a dozen occupied houses there. But the region...

2016/02/29

The Forgotten Biomes of Brazil.

(photo: FCBS) "Brazil has many biomes of which the most famous are the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Rain Forest. Sadly, rapid deforestation is taking care of the former and only 7% is left of the latter! But there´s more, much more to be told when it comes to Brazil´s inexhaustible ability to destroy what it can not create. This article covers the Cerrado, one of the Brazilian biomes "forgottten" by our legislators back in 1988, when the chapter of natural environment...

What is good for the park, is good for its people.

(photo: Guia da Chapada Diamantina) "Since our arrival in the Chapada Diamantina National Park, we feel that its history represents a strong symbol for our search. The contrast between the diamond extraction on one hand and the conservation of nature on the other, combined with the ongoing challenge to reduce poverty teach important lessons for those who envision a new balance between Earth and Man. The history of this park is mixed up with the life history of the man...

2016/02/28

Roy Funch - Lençóis in the 70's.

(Fonte: Guia da Chapada Diamantina...

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