HELLO WORLD!! I’m Kate. Eek, first post on steemit – kinda exciting!!!!! Want to introduce myself and my interests, who knows maybe I’ll start to blog on some of these themes?
An Irish Cailín
I’m the “psychedelic sheep of the family”, of a family of four from Donegal, N.W. Ireland (think wind-swept wide-open beaches and rolling hills blanketed in glorious purple sheep-nibbled heather, rugged castles and megalithic tombs, faeries, and cosy pubs with turf-burning fires and eccentric publicans). Although my feet have since wandered far I will always be a Donegal girl! My friends say I’m cheerful and sometimes they think I’m “a bit different” (depends where they are on that scale themselves!).
Researching in Brazil
I’m currently single and living in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, writing up a doctoral thesis about the wild food plant scene here (or ‘PANCs’, non-conventional food plants, as they are known here). I was thinking that it could be interesting to share on here in Steemit some of my experiences in Paraty and from fieldwork, and maybe even geek people out with some of my thoughts on my research. It seems like a fantastic platform for researchers to reach a broader audience (whoever reads theses anyway??). What do you guys think?
Lovely lovely Brazil...
So you might be thinking to yourself, “that’s very cunning, choosing one of the top tourist destinations in Brazil, renowned for its lush Atlantic forest, pristine waterfalls and beautiful tropical beaches to do your PhD fieldwork”, and I would say, “yes, yes it was very cunning!”. Okay, well there’s more of a backstory to it than that, but it has been rather lovely living here for the last two years!
A transformative experience
It has transformed my life getting to know the ins and outs of the wild food and agroecology scene, to taste the beautifully slow rhythm of life of modern ‘neorurals’ (young city folk seeking a simpler rural life), and to also discover the hidden universe of contemporary shamanism (this last hadn’t a huge amount to do with my research I’ll have to admit – but was very transformative!).
My Interests
Rather than waffling on, here’s a list of some of the things I‘m properly interested in:
• Biodiversity Conservation (from a social sciences perspective)
• Ethnobotany / ethnoecology
• Wild food plants
• Agroecology
• Permaculture
• Bushcraft
• Travelling & knowing new places (not a whistle-stop backpacker)
• Language learning
• Amateur psychology (attachment theory, mindfulness, enneagram)
• Neo-shamanism
• Sacred plants
• Nature connectedness
• General alternative living sorta stuff
• Van-life (I have an unhealthy obsession with the idea of campervan living – I’ll have to show you photos of a Bedford van I had a while ago!)
• Capoeira
• Yoga and massage
• B-movie zombie flicks
• And more recently - Cryptocurrency mania ... woohooo! All in on Steeeeeeeem!!!!!!!! Chooo Chooo!!! (he he, not that I have all that much to go "all in"!)
My Photos
And here’s some photos to give you a taste of my Brazilian life…
The view from my apartment’s balcony:
Me and Safo the cat, who deigns me with his company and permits me to feed and cuddle him:
A visit from my bestie Amanda all the way from Ireland:
Getting in with the agroecology crew during a permaculture event in a local quilombola community with Senhor Alcides (I think this is the 'roça' with the best view in all of Brazil!):
Helping collect juçara, the “açai of the Atlantic Forest” (some brave souls head up those palm trees without a ladder!):
Helping sort through a juçara harvest on another occasion:
Visiting an urban agriculture centre in São Paulo (Arboreser):
Visiting a family farmer growing passion fruit among other things:
Visiting farmer’s markets in Paraty and asking interminable questions about plants (this is Senhor Valdevina, a much respected agroforester):
Left holding the baby whilst spending time at an informant’s family agroforestry farm inside the Bocaina National Park:
Attending lots of courses about wild food plants (photo credit to Thai Frô/Satya Thai who's in front - check her music out on Soundcloud, it's amazing! Also check out "Gourmet PANCs- Alquimia alimentar" on Facebook to know Poliana who ran the course):
Wild food salad:
Basically, life involves eating lots of marvellous wild food creations:
Visiting my favourite local waterfall:
Shamanic drumming at a local yoga festival:
Taking part in shamanic ceremonies…
Enjoying the vibrant night life in Paraty’s beautiful historical town centre:
Visiting Rio de Janeiro and humming Barry Manilow to myself the whole time that I’m in Copacabana:
I hope you enjoyed my little Kate intro! Maybe I’ll take some time out from thesis writing to write some blogs about my experiences and research. PhD students are always looking for a bit of good distraction!!