Sarah Mascarenhas, from NINJA’s Collaborative Coverage at COP30

As COP30 opened its official program on the warm Monday morning of November 10, the Ver-o-Peso Market — the largest open-air market in Latin America — breathed ancestry. Among corridors filled with aromas — breu-branco, lavender, jucá, catuaba — the Herb Sector buzzed with the comings and goings of women who transform wisdom into livelihood and faith into craft.

Among them is Maria Loura, who carries in her hands the legacy of an entire lineage. “I inherited this stall from my children in 1987. They grew up here, and today they also work with herbs. This is the legacy I leave behind: my family’s entrepreneurship,” she said as she adjusted the hanging leaves on her counter. In her calm voice, both the weight of tradition and the lightness of someone who knows the value of her own path.

Maria Loura carries in her hands the legacy of an entire lineage (Photo: Graziela Brum)

A bit further ahead, Roberta, 56, was handling herbal tonics and oils. She began working in the market at 20 and has since lived from the cures and teachings she learned from the elder women. She is related to Dona Bete Cheirosinha, one of Belém’s most renowned healers, and works side by side with Cristina, a benzedeira who learned the craft by observing her mothers and aunts.

Roberta recounted that during the Ver-o-Peso renovation, there was an attempt to expel the herb sellers from the area: “They wanted to remove us, as if our work had no value. But we fought and stayed. This place is part of Belém’s history, and we are part of it,” she said.

Between prayers and perfumes, Cristina invited us for a blessing ritual. Graziela Brum and I accepted with open hearts. They sprayed the air with Quebra Feitiço perfume — a blend of herbs and faith that scents the body and protects the spirit. And it was Roberta who explained the power of that fragrance: “Our work is something very important, especially ours, the work of women, which is independent — we really like being independent. And that attracts a lot of envy. This Quebra Feitiço perfume is to ward off the evil eye, envy, people who send negative energy into our lives.”

In my bag, I carried Leite do Amapá, sucupira syrup, and sucupira oil. But what stayed with me was the lesson: Ver-o-Peso is not just a market — it is a spiritual territory, a place of resistance and feminine power. A place where each herb is an ancient word, and each bottled remedy is a prayer wrapped in the courage of women who, even in the face of attempts at erasure, continue healing, blessing, and teaching the world how to listen.