Território, identidade e multifuncionalidade: a produção familiar do queijo canastra em comunidades rurais do município de São Roque De Minas MG

Abstract

The way to make homemade cheese is a cultural heritage transmitted among generations. The first cheese makers came from Portuguese lands and mining areas in decline that gradually populated the West of Minas Gerais in the eighteenth century, the territorialization took hold with cattle breeding, the surplus milk produced was used for the cheeses preparation. Currently, this product is hand made remembered as intangible heritage which contributes to a revaluation of the product. Craft production of cheese is the basis of the domestic economy of many families settled in the rural municipality of São Roque de Minas-MG. The daily deals with the cattle and manual work require dedication and persistence of the members of the families. In spite of the changes in rural areas, it is noted that part of the family production units in communities that municipality preserves values of a country that was for gotten for some time. New ruralities arise within cheese maker, producer families who continued to produce cheese aim to improve the quality from their own experience, the majority still resists product certification as to funding to invest in production. The objective is to analyze the family production of Canastra cheese from the spatial understanding of the established social organization in communities and the way of life and identity of family farmers. For this, the method of qualitative research techniques and direct observation, semi structured interviews and oral history and life by conducting field research in six communities in the municipality of São Roque de Minas and the surrounding area of the National Park was used Serra da Canastra. The data point to a diversity of family farming, the inclusion of non-agricultural activities, associations and certain low productive and administrative autonomy of rural properties investigated in relation to the market.