Rural territories against Covid-19: knowledge, actions and reflections from popular health education

This article is founded on the systematization of Oscar Jara’s experiences to rebuild the paths of Participatory Action Research in Health in rural communities based on experiences of prevention and health care in coping with Covid-19. Since June 2020, we have been developing popular education experiences in rural health guided by Paulo Freire’s pedagogy in northern territories and in the coastal lowlands of the state of Rio de Janeiro, specifically in areas of agrarian reform linked to the Landless Workers Movemen (MST); a quilombola territory; and a women’s collective connected to the Working Group of Women of the Serramar Articulation of Agroecology (GT Mulheres Serramar). The analysis of these experiences points towards pedagogical alternatives produced from academic and popular knowledge, seeking support in popular communication, in the protagonism of rural communities, especially with regard to women as producers of knowledge, care practices and resistance.

Keywords
Covid-19; Health education; Community-based participatory research; Rural population