Sustainability and Environmental Ethics (From the Environmental Primer to the Intercultural Garden)

Abstract

This article represents the historical record of the stages of the third management of the intercultural didactic garden (medicinal and sensory) in a courtyard used by the Homeopathy Service, located in the 7th Infirmary of the Hospital Geral Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, whose elaboration was inter - transdisciplinary and intersectoral, voluntary and cooperative, with the purpose of cultural appreciation and intercultural and interethnic experience, as a way of promoting well-being and mental health through the preservation of intangible heritage, which is the knowledge of the people. From this stage completed in primary care, scientific initiations were carried out with the plant elements of this garden, ranging from in situ morphological knowledge to the pharmaceutical process using the Hahnemannian method of multiple bottles, to investigate circumscribed environmental issues. For the current stage, Annona muricata (Soursop) used by Traditional Knowledge, was selected based on a bibliographical review and the book by Benoit Jules Mure (1894), doctor and naturalist, who brought Homeopathic Medicine to Brazil at that time, caring for members and families of communities traditional ethnicities and indigenous peoples who were enslaved or left to fend for themselves. Fruit from the garden that bears his name has broad potential for scientific investigation, thus contributing to the expansion of perception regarding cultural diversity and biodiversity, helping to raise awareness of ethical behavior towards the environment (Environmental Ethics).