Metodologia participativa na instalação de sistemas de abastecimento e tratamento de água em áreas rurais: o caso da comunidade quilombola de Lagedo, São Francisco, Minas Gerais

Abstract

Several authors address the lack of dialogue with rural communities as one of the aspects that leads to failure in the adoption of water and or sewage treatment techniques by the residents of these areas. Although widespread, the participatory research method is an intercultural dialogue enabling tool apparently poorly absorbed by the institutions that provide rural sanitation services in Brazil. This study aims to analyze the participatory research method as a tool for definition and installation of infrastructure related to supply and treatment of water in a Quilombola rural community through the use of participatory techniques in the practice of an intervention research. Further, it discusses the views of public institutions, non-governmental organizations, social movements and residents of a Quilombola community in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais, concerning the situation of rural sanitation, public policies related to it and the relationship of this context with popular participation. The study seeks to contribute to the understanding of researchers and professionals in the engineering, domain concerned with the issue of universal access and democratization of basic sanitation services in rural areas of the country. The study was conducted in the community of Lagedo, which is situated in the Quilombola Territory of Bom Jardim da Prata and, in the municipality of San Francisco, the northern region of Minas Gerais. Based on the work it was found that the participatory approach is a useful tool for communities that have little organization and whose residents do not usually act in collective discussions. Based on its use in practice, it was observed that participatory techniques have great potential for analysis and discussion of the socio-environmental reality of residents and possible water treatment techniques. The constancy of the presence of players from outside the community was considered essential for the development of relations of trust and commitment between external experts and the community, as well as the training activities carried out with the locals. Public institutions and outside researchers should seek organizational alternatives within institutions to ensure greater commitment and presence in communities and to guarantee that the demands and opinions of residents are considered in the designs and development of public policies. The experience of this study showed that the construction of public policies related to rural sanitation should be guided by the active participation of rural communities in local decision-making bodies, such as boards and committees. But for this to happen effectively, communities need prior training and financial resources to prepare themselves to participate in technical discussions and other issues over which they have little information. The state and federal government should improve its channels of contact with what is discussed at the municipal level, identify and ensure sustainable funding sources and develop strategies to ensure that the resources actually reach the rural areas where they are most needed.