Plants embody meaningful stories on how people connect with their environment; which in turn, reflect the knowledge we share with the land. This powerful connection inspires my research. Unfairly, these relationships are often disrupted by extractive and capital-pursuit actions rooted in colonialism and the neoliberalist policies that sustain it.
With an anti-colonial lens, I work in the IEK-Changes project with the Tsimane’ Peoples of the Bolivian Amazon to understand how environmental (plant) knowledge changes influence the forest dynamics in their territories. By monitoring these processes, we can inform the biodiversity conservation agenda and support Indigenous Peoples’ land rights and stewardship.
I previously engaged in diverse projects at the intersection of botany, history, linguistics, and art (Brazil, Colombia, Curaçao, Colombia, and the Netherlands). I enjoy talking to people about the role plants play for them (which brings hope in a world increasingly more disconnected from nature) and digging in the archives to unravel the hidden (sometimes infamous) past of botanical collections. Additionally, I am intrigued about plant lore and symbolism related to witches and demons in rural areas (e.g., Aragon Pyrenees) and the function these archetypes have played in the territory over time.