Traditional Fabric and Medicinal Use Are the Leading Factors of In Situ Conservation of Gossypium barbadense in Central Brazil

Abstract

The Sea Island cotton Gossypium barbadense has been present in Brazil for at least 750 years. Cultivated worldwide, the fibres present superior quality; therefore, farmers’ seeds are an important genetic resource and in situ maintenance is essential to complement ex situ conservation. To understand how the species has been conserved in situ and investigate the socio-economic aspects which may ensure the continuity of its conservation, we conducted expeditions to three different municipalities situated in Brazilian Cerrado, Goiás state, Brazil—one of which is a traditional community, the quilombo Kalunga community—interviewed plant maintainers and compared our results with data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. There is hand spinning and hand weaving for home uses and commercialization within and outside the traditional community, which contribute to the continuity of the in situ conservation of Gossypium barbadense. Medicinal use is more determinant than hand weaving in deciding to keep plants and seeds. Fabric handicraft is a predominantly female, low-income activity. Interviews with cotton hand spinners indicated that in situ maintenance may be favoured by access to weaving looms and improvement in the marketing and sale of their products. Policies valuing handicrafts can ensure the continuity of biodiversity and disseminate and vivify traditions in addition to maintaining an income for the artisans.