The ñeque: Traditional Beverage and Its Role in Teaching Alcoholic Fermentation

Abstract

The teaching of chemistry faces challenges in regions such as the Colombian Caribbean, where the disconnect between ancestral knowledge and scientific concepts generates student disinterest and a loss of cultural identity. ñeque, a traditional beverage of the Zenú and Wayúu communities, is proposed as an educational resource to link science and culture in the classroom, promoting intercultural education. For this purpose, a digital educational booklet was designed to document alcoholic fermentation within the context of ñeque. The research, based on a qualitative approach, combined documentary analysis, interviews, and fieldwork with the Zenú community in Tuchín, Córdoba. The resource establishes connections between the fermentation process described by Pasteur and the production of ñeque, integrating historical, cultural, and chemical aspects. Moreover, it fosters values such as identity, respect, and tolerance, strengthening intercultural dialogue and the connection between cultural heritage and science, under the motto “science behind traditions.”

To this end, an educational booklet was designed that teaches alcoholic fermentation from the context of Ñeque. The research used a qualitative methodology based on documentary analysis, interviews, and fieldwork with the Zenú community in Tuchín, Córdoba, Colombia. The objectives include characterizing ancestral knowledge about Ñeque, relating it to organic chemistry concepts, and developing a digital resource that links cultural traditions with scientific knowledge.

The booklet explains the relationship between Pasteur's alcoholic fermentation process and Ñeque production, addressing historical, cultural, and chemical aspects from an integrative perspective. It also promotes values ​​such as identity, respect, and tolerance, facilitating intercultural dialogue. This resource is aimed at Indigenous teachers and communities interested in preserving traditions through scientific teaching, strengthening the connection between cultural heritage and science, based on the motto "The Science Behind the Traditions."