LIQUIT: Voices of the Territories seeks to understand, map and articulate the voices of communities affected by lithium mining, from speculation to prospecting.
The acronym LIQUIT refers to the diversity of local populations, indigenous peoples, quilombos and traditional communities that inhabit the region. The word also refers to the precious liquid that gives life and name to the valley: the Jequitinhonha River and its hydrographic network.
Using collaborative methodologies with the participation of local communities, we aim to value their knowledge, ways of life and needs. Formed by a team of researchers from Brazil and Europe, the proposal aims to understand local struggles, the socio-environmental impacts of lithium extraction and the political processes that promote mining, silencing the diversity of voices that emerge in the communities.
With the aim of promoting environmental justice and climate resilience, the Liquit project aims to strengthen and amplify the voices raised in defense of territories in different spaces, such as licensing processes, legislative assemblies, academic debates and international networks.
We are a multidisciplinary and international team, made up of sociologists, geographers, historians, psychologists, political scientists, social workers, teachers, anthropologists, economists, architects, photojournalists and community researchers, committed to contributing to social and environmental justice.
Most of us have worked for many years with traditional peoples and communities in processes of dispute over territories in regions such as the São Francisco River, Jequitinhonha and other parts of Minas Gerais. Other members work with communities in other regions and countries, such as Chile, Portugal and England.
As academic researchers, we travel through different territories. In this movement, we seek to put experiences from different places into dialogue, promoting exchanges and learning. Our goal is to always return to the communities with whom we collaborate, building lasting and beneficial relationships.
We have different skills and we put them to the service of defending the peoples who live on and from the land. We understand, based on our work and research, that these peoples are the true defenders of the environment and the sustainability of the planet.
Local, Indigenous, Quilombola and Traditional Communities and the Making of the “Lithium Valley” in Minas Gerais, Brazil: Empowering Silenced Voices in the Energy Transition (LIQUIT) – This research/project is supported/funded by the British Academy’s ODA 2024 Challenge Oriented Research Grants Programme, with support from the UK Government’s International Science Partnerships Fund
