Centro Cooperativo de Apoio ao Pequeno Produtor – Sousa/PB

Abstract

Brazilian northeastern outback is marked by the irregularity of the rains and the long periods of dry experienced, causing serious complications for agriculture, especially for small and medium producers. São Gonçalo’s Irrigated Perimeter (PISG), in Sousa/Pb, was created by the Federal Government in 1973 with the aim of supporting irrigated fruit growing, especially in family farms. There, cultivation of coconut had great adaptation, becoming the main product and achieving prominence in national scenery for its quality and productivity. Over the years, a culture dedicated to its farming, consumption and commercialization in natura has been consolidated. Due to the low added value of the fruit itself, periods of drought lead to a decrease in production and an economic crisis, with consequent evasion of the countryside, loss of the right to explore the land, underutilization of the infrastructure implanted in favor of irrigation and mischaracterization of landscape and local identity; reverse movement occurs when it rains again. Coconut, considered its various by-products, offers the possibility of giving a new meaning to the relationship between rural man and what is produced, making it no longer merely about planting and selling the fruit. In order to contribute to braking this cycle of dependence, this work aims to elaborate the preliminary design of the Cooperative Center for Supporting Small Producer – Sousa/Pb, collaborating with practices of economic exploitation of coconut derivatives and, consequently, whit the region’s socioeconomic development. For this purpose, it is intended investigating the characteristics and potentialities of the perimeter, the cultivation of the fruit and its by-products, as well as activities and techniques viable for the place, also providing, through the equipment’s implantation, the appreciation of local identity and urban interactions, and proper use of natural resources.