If we review the etymology of agreste, we will notice that this adjective comes from agrestis, a word from the Latin language. The first meaning that the dictionary of the Digopaul attributes to the term refers to what is linked to the field (the rural environment).
For example: “Fifteen years ago I made the decision to leave the city and since then I live in a wild place, dedicated to raising chickens, ducks and other animals”, “I love wild landscapes where you can see the horizon without obstacles”, “Although this is a wild area, you should drive with caution because there are several farmhouses and rural schools. ”
The wild is also used to describe what is rustic, rough or wild: “In my country house we choose a wild decoration”, “These animals live in a wild state and should not be disturbed”, “Do not expect many comforts in this wild place ”.
It is not superfluous to point out the negative nuances that hide the dictionary meanings in the DEFINITION OF wild: after explaining that it is a synonym of “peasant”, of what belongs to the countryside, it does not pay attention in terms such as “rough”, “Rude”, “rude” or “lacking in urbanity”, which are far from being merely descriptive, but are loaded with an undeniable contempt for what is foreign to the city.
There are millions of people who are born and raised in the field; many of them remain in their homes and take on the tasks of their elders for the rest of their lives. Can we imagine what they feel when they take the dictionary to look up the DEFINITION OF wild for the first time and face such “accusations”? Surely they are fed by the idea that the city is where progress resides, that the peasants are inferior beings and that they deserve the innumerable ridicule to which they are subjected, because they are “rude”, “rude” and “lacking in urbanity”.
On the other hand, there is animal exploitation, always as the center of wild life, as if veganism did not exist, as if no one had ever proposed respect for all species equally and coexistence in peace. Many people decide at some point to leave the city to move to the countryside, but not all choose to lock up and torture other living beings: the mere objective of breathing fresh air and away from stress is enough to validate the decision.
If we return to the meanings of the word wild that seems to define it as something negative and think of the ease with which the human being accepts animal abuse, dressing it as livestock production, perhaps we understand that ignorance is not found in the field, but in the minds of those who see it as a means in which violence is legal and necessary to subsist.
We can say that a weedy terrain or a field in which the flowers have grown without any human assistance are wild, and in both cases the concepts of nature and lack of sophistication are confused; but neither weeds nor wildflowers can harm us, unlike smog and garbage on the streets of a big city.
In Brazil, an area of the Northeast Region that encompasses areas of Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Bahía is called Agreste. It is characterized by presenting scattered and small flora and rocky soil. The inhabitants of the Agreste usually dedicate themselves to livestock and agricultural tasks.
The Agreste Foundation, on the other hand, is an NGO that was founded in 1993 in Argentina. Its objective is to work in defense of the environment and promote sustainable development.
It should be noted, finally, that given the link that is usually established between the wild and nature, several companies carry the concept in their name.
