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One of the cornerstones of our Expedition Program is the preservation of the community’s memories and traditional knowledge. Through workshops, the local residents create books in which they tell their own stories. The most remarkable part of this is that all of these books are handmade.

The program begins with storytelling, when the storytellers share their memories, local traditions and tales for everybody to hear. Normally, these storytellers are older people with vast knowledge of local history and culture. After the storytelling is done, the volunteers choose one person to make a written record so they can start producing a handmade book with text and drawings.

The creation and distribution of these books is very important, since they not only strengthen the origins and history of the community, but they also contribute to the appreciation of the local culture of each people. Vaga Lume frequently promotes workshops and training sessions in order to encourage the production of these books.

Last month we held a number of workshops and handmade book releases. One of them was in the community of Graça de Deus, in Mirinzal, in the state of Maranhão. Young volunteers wrote a book: “The Midwife of Graça de Deus”, which tells the story of Dona Leoci, an eighty-year-old woman who is the oldest midwife of the region.

In the urban area of Ponte Alta do Tocantins, in the state of Tocantins, we held the release of the book “The Rabeca* of Mr. Miudo”, which tells the story of Mr. Miudo, a famous local storyteller and musician. In addition, in Pacaraima, in the state of Roraima, the indigenous community released some handmade books telling local stories in their native language.

*Rabeca is an instrument used most commonly in Brazilian forró music.

Links:

• Vaga Lume's Website
• Vaga Lume's facebook page
• Vaga Lume's instagram profile

Last month we had the pleasure of inaugurating two new communitarian libraries. One of them was in the community of Bela Conquista, Tefé, in the state of Amazonas. The other one was in the community of Céu, in Soure, in the state of Pará.

Bela Conquista’s library was named Maria Eunice de Lime Communitarian Library. The community took the initiative to build the library under the leadership of a local teacher. Together, they organized and built each part of the headquarter! Their dedication in every detail, as in the decoration, the books’ organization, in the painting are only some indications of how the community was committed to this achievement.

Building a new library, with its own premises, was a gain for everybody since it is now located in a more accessible space. Besides, having such a space contributes to make reading workshops even more active and make more than 600 books be explored by anyone at any time.

The second inaugurated library was in the community of Céu, named José Carmelo Mota Jr. Library. Thanks to the support of traders, partners, community leaders and teachers from the local school, which was formerly the headquarter of the community’s library, the residents gave life to the new space, where a special painting is coming soon. The inauguration ceremony, attended by the Vaga Lume team from São Paulo, had several activities and reading mediations going on.

The autonomy and accessibility that come with the construction of a community's Vaga Lume library of their own are two fundamental factors for the strengthening of the project. These spaces often become reference for the whole community, by becoming meeting points for the accomplishment of diverse cultural activities and, of course, a lot of reading mediations.

Links:

• Vaga Lume's website
• Vaga Lume's facebook page
• Vaga Lume's instagram profile