Empreendimentos economicos solidários e agroextrativismo em uma comunidade tradicional do norte de Minas Gerais

Abstract

The Solidarity Economy began in Brazil in the 1970s as a civil society movement supported by non-governmental, governmental, religious and union organizations in search of productive alternatives to generate employment and income.Experiences in solidary economy seek to join two historically dissociated notions: productive initiative and solidarity;they start from local initiatives, accompanied or not by external incentivesand seek, as a priority, to solve production and commercialization problems.This article discusses some of the characteristics, potentialities and limitations of solidary economic enterprises by traditional populations that inhabit a region known as “Gerais” –subclassification of the Cerrado Biome, in the North of Minas Gerais.These groups of farmers collect, process and sell Cerrado fruits through collective work in agroindustries and local cooperatives, while effectively conserving large natural areas.This article is the result of research and extension activities developed with COOPAAB -Cooperativa dos Agricultores Agroextrativistas da Comunidade Água Boa II, located in the municipality of Rio Pardo de Minas.The results show that the cooperative emerged from a history of struggles for land and territories, very present in this region;it is played by women;it has a diversified production and finds it difficult to face sanitary legislation and in the commercialization stage.