O espaço de produção de remédios artesanais, a relação das erveiras com ele e seu melhoramento: uma experiência do Grupo “Erva Vida”

Abstract

This work presents an architectural proposal for the adaptation of the “Erva Vida” Space, located in the Bairro do Sossego in Marapanim, Pará, where handmade herbal remedies are produced. The proposal aims to improve building facilities, the organization and systematization of handling activities, with the aim of obtaining handmade phytomedicines with better quality, from the preparation of the ingredients to the final product, and commercialization. The work was developed between 2018 and 2020, based on field research, when conversations, photographic records and measurements of the built spaces were performed, and sought to listen and consider the opinion, and observe the needs of the herbalist women who produce the handmade medicines. Along this path, tales and life stories were collected, which enabled the insertion into the universe that makes up the work of these women, and thus, it was possible to better understand the productive chain of handmade phytomedicines and the relationship that herbalist women establish with the house, as well as the significant role of the group for their work and for their lives, which use ancestral knowledge to carry out their work. Following the defined methodological path, the bibliography and documentation on the Policy on Medicinal Plants and Phytotherapics, established by Resolution of the Collegiate Board nº 13/2013 - ANVISA / MS, and the respective Program were analyzed. These documents provide guidelines and criteria for preparing herbal medicines, observing the Good Manufacturing Practices for Traditional Herbal Products, regulated by RDC nº 301/2019, which was changed by RDC nº 388/2020. The theoretical perspective of the research was based on the reflections of Buarque (2008), Vasconcellos (2013) and Diegues (1996), who discuss community development and local development, with historical information on the ancient botanicals, developed by Edler (2006). The discussion in the scope of architecture was based on the reflections of Bestetti (2014), on the concept of ambience and Yi-fu Tuan (2013), which conceptualizes space and place. Finally, an architectural adaptation project was developed for the “Erva Vida” Space, a building built twenty-three (23) years ago, undergoing rare renovations in this period. The proposed architectural adaptation project therefore provided improvements in the production space, which includes the laboratory, the herb drying and the manipulation rooms. This work seeks to contribute for discussions and reflections on architecture and the activities developed by the “Erva vida” Group as a form of cultural resistance, financial independence, and local development.