Mulheres de rio: um ensaio projetual como forma de re-existência

Abstract

This final thesis invites you to take a deep dive over the words of this work divided into 4 chapters; Approach, Dive, Deepen and Emerge. The river bath is intended to echo the voices of the riverside women of the western region of Bahia. These women are fighting against the construction of the hydroelectric, Santa Luzia. They are fighting to preserve the river, Rio Grande, as the hydroelectric will deviate eight kilometers of its course, harming the surrounded communities. These people have lived there for generations utilizing its water for their own survival. The guiding thread of this struggle is female leadership, driven by the riverside women. They are the ones whom skim the land, plant and fish. They are also on the lead to produce cassava flour, brown sugar, and break the babassu coconuts for oil production. Besides all of that, they are also the ones in front of the line to take care of their children and their houses using the water of the Rio Grande. The riverside women sink their feet like deep roots into their territory as a form of resistance from large enterprises that threaten to reduce the water level of the river. Their voices are often silenced, a reflection of this silencing is the lack of knowledge about the existing conflicts in the urban centers, in which the discussion on water management is insufficient for these communities and the preservation of the Rio Grande. Considering women's bodies and their expansion through affections, building an existential territory from women and for women who resist the great light of capitalism and patriarchy. It is proposed here a transversal movement that responds, through a design essay, the desires narrated by the riverside women for an architecture that represents an affective and collective construction. It is proposed that this design essay be inhabited (or read), crossed by the role of riverside women, just as the waters of the Rio Grande cross their territory.