Comunidade Quilombola do Alto da Serra do Mar

The Quilombola Community of Alto da Serra do Mar, located in Lídice, Rio Claro, traces its origins to the Antero and Leite families, descendants of enslaved people who once lived on the coffee plantations of the Paraíba Valley region. After abolition, they survived by producing charcoal, which supplied the region’s industries, and harvesting hearts of palm. Over time, demand for charcoal declined and the extraction of hearts of palm was prohibited. The community then turned to family subsistence farming, producing bananas, cassava, beans, corn, coconuts, and vegetables. Both families arrived in Alto da Serra in the 1950s, during the decline of charcoal production, and in 1965 their union was sealed through the marriage of Benedito Leite and Teresinha Antero, who is still alive today. Beginning in the 1980s, a series of disputes over the territory emerged. In 2003, the community self-declared as a quilombola remnant, receiving certification from the Fundação Cultural Palmares in 2010, and in 2016 obtained official recognition from the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). Today, around 20 families live in the Quilombola Community of Alto da Serra do Mar, contributing to forest regeneration and spring restoration, selling their agricultural products, engaging in ecotourism, and keeping their traditions, culture, and way of life alive.