Care narratives: Babassu breakers and mother palm trees

Abstract

In Brazil, the women-led Interstate Movement of Babassu Coconut Breakers (MIQCB) is active in four states where babassu is prominent: Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins, and Pará. Advocating for the rights and livelihoods of over 300 thousand babassu breakers, MIQCB has achieved significant successes, including the approval of several Free Babassu Laws that challenge the conventional logic of private property. However, despite these achievements, the Movement faces ongoing struggles both internally and against external development threats. This article draws on insights from fieldwork and a long-standing partnership with the Movement and explores their struggles for existence and resistance. Our analysis is grounded in feminist theories of care, political ontology, and everyday utopias to highlight the political dimensions of care, including the role of conflict. Our analysis demonstrates how the practical work of care, including interspecies reciprocity, is central to the movement’s resistance against dominant development paradigms and its enactment of everyday utopia aimed at creating a world where diverse lives, narratives, and relationships can exist.