The human use of plant fibers has shaped entire landscapes — territories, economies, and identities. In Latin America, this history spans thousands of years and holds a complexity rarely captured in the literature: distinct peoples, distinct plants, distinct bodies of knowledge, each built and passed down within very specific ecological and cultural contexts.
This online course is a journey through Latin America told through its fibrous plants. We’ll cover botany, ethnobotany, history, textile uses, and extraction practices documented in scientific literature, historical sources, and audiovisual records. We will also discuss communities’ rights over their traditional knowledge of plant fibers, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the concept of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). More information can be found on Google Docs HERE.
Class 1 — Tuesday, September 22, 2026: A Panoramic View of Pre-Colonial Plant Fibers in Latin America
Which plants were used, by which peoples, in which territories. How fibers structured economy, spirituality, identity, and memory.
Class 2 — Wednesday, September 23, 2026: Botany, Ethnobotany, and Extraction Practices
A deep dive into some of Latin America’s key fiber species — from Mexican henequén to Amazonian curauá. Ecology, geographic distribution, and textile uses. Extraction techniques documented in the literature and in reference videos.
Class 3 — Tuesday, September 29, 2026: Colonialism, Expropriation, and Rights
What colonialism did to fiber knowledge. Concrete cases of appropriated and erased knowledge — and what protections exist today.
Class 4 — Wednesday, September 30, 2026: What Fibers Exist Where You Live?
Ahead of this class, you’ll be asked to go outside, observe the plants around you, and bring back a photo or sample. In our final session, we’ll identify these plants together, trace their stories, and connect what’s growing near you to everything we’ve covered throughout the course.
Who this course is for
Anyone curious about plants, history, and material culture. Artisans, designers, and fashion professionals who want to understand the origins of what they work with. Students and researchers in anthropology, biology, history, and law.
About the instructor
Eduarda Bastian is a doctoral researcher in Botany at UFSC (PPGFAP – Laboratory of Human Ecology and Ethnobotany, Brazil), where she studies the traditional and contemporary use of plant fibers across the Global South. She is the founder of Fibershed Brasil, a nonprofit organization supporting and strengthening the work of traditional communities engaged in plant fiber and textile projects.
