This dissertation had the objective of characterizing nineteen homegardens in the
Saco do Mamanguá community, located in the Paraty County – RJ. Social, economical and
ethnoecological aspects were addressed in close association with external pressure factors in the
regional context. Research-intervention methodology was used, as in social sciences, ethnoecology
and participatory diagnosis. Present and main pressure factors affecting this community are part of a
historical process, that started with the opening of the Rio-Santos highway. Its biggest impact was the
stimulus for tourism, causing the expansion of real estate exploitation, constant contact of the local
people with urban centers, predatory extractions of economically valued plants and the creation of
Conservation Units in this region, as a means of protection. These factors were analyzed from the
stand point of the social, economical, environmental and cultural impacts on the reorganization of the
traditional production systems and natural resource management at the Saco do Mamanguá,
focusing land use, and specially homegardens. One of the most evident consequences was the loss of territory and internal mobility of the families,
resulting in the decrease of land for cultivation – gardens and fields of plantation – and at last, the
food delocalization and increase of dependence on external products. Although food bought in the
city represent 60.2% of the total cited in the surveys, local resources contribute with 39.7%, from
which 13.7% come from homegardens, which supply mainly fruits and in less quantity vegetables,
medicinal plants and condiments. These data show the importance of home gardens in the families’
food and health supply. Besides, from the 19 home gardens studied, we found 347 species of plants,
with an average of 64 species per garden, showing their richness in diversity. Another important
aspect was the structural complexity of these gardens. All of them presented three main strata: herbs
(dominated by ornamental plants); shrubs (mostly for food); and trees (dominated by fruits) in which
shades are occupied by other perennial species. Considering that these gardens are complex
systems, one can observe different zones of management. While characterizing these gardens, their
function and values were emphasized, including the intangible ones, hardly measured, related to
esthetical values, to leisure and to emotional aspects. These aspects give visibility to the gardens’
contribution to life quality of those families and their health security, and through these values and the
management systems already in practice, to stimulate in the future the formulation of new
agroforestry practices that are in tune with the principles of sustainable development.
