20.500.12556/RUL-179700 Bahia’s Dendê and the forgotten knowledge cultural heritage, sustainability, and the marginalization of Afro-Brazilian traditions Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis), one of the most widely used vegetable oils globally, originates from West Africa and has played a significant role in food, health care, and historical trade networks. It holds cultural, historical, ecological and symbolic significance in Bahia, Brazil. Unlike industrial monocultures, Bahia’s dendê economy is rooted in biodiverse landscapes, maintained through artisanal methods and generational knowledge. Yet, this traditional system faces mounting pressures from deforestation, declining artisanal production, and the industrialization of palm oil supply chains. Parallel to these ecological and economic threats is the abandonment of Bahia’s historical processing infrastructure: many traditional mills and industrial heritage sites have been lost, eroding both tangible and intangible cultural landscapes. These shifts have profound implications for the Baianas do Acarajé, the iconic street vendors who embody the matriarchal cultural lineage and rely on high-quality, traditionally produced dendê for their Afro-Brazilian cuisine. The increasing cost and reduced availability of artisanal oil compromise not only their livelihoods but also the authenticity of comidas de azeite, diminishing a sensory and symbolic culinary tradition. This study adopts a rigorous interdisciplinary methodology, synthesizing ethnography, heritage science, and engineering principles to explore how these artisanal practices can help us solve modern industrial sustainability problems. This article argues that Bahia’s palm oil heritage embodies a multifaceted heritage, spanning religious, economic, ecological, and cultural dimensions, that remains under-recognized and vulnerable. Drawing from UNESCO’s framework of intangible cultural heritage, the study not only details how these practices are transmitted across generations through the matriarchal culinary lineage, but ultimately advances three core contributions, analyzing artisanal performance, proposing a transferable sustainability framework, and outlining actionable pathways, to demonstrate that local communities are co-designers of solutions whose heritage offers a proven blueprint to address contemporary industrial sustainability challenges, calling for informed recognition and support to safeguard this essential component of Brazil’s Afro-descendant cultural identity. Dende Bahia Brazil intangible cultural heritage palm oil Dende Bahia Brazilija nesnovna kulturna dediščina palmovo olje true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-02-20 13:53:52 2026-02-20 13:53:53 2026-02-21 04:40:48 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 35 str. iss. 1, art. 6 Vol. 9 Jan. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 665.353.4:338.483.13 2571-9408 10.3390/heritage9010006 263535107 RAZ_Queiroz_Luana_P._2026.pdf RAZ_Queiroz_Luana_P._2026.pdf 1 4E3E1443D3DF3B826886D64BBF2B8448 ca2afcc1f2b8747cad0c7b0f23d62df6ab23c22b9dfd3df3be0dd0bf3c8893dc ee3b0c1f-0e5b-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=228490 https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/9/1/6 1 f4bac623-0e5a-11f1-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=228486 Fakulteta za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo 0 0 0