Trabalho associado e agricultura sustentável na produção do guaraná em Maúes: resistência, r-existência e subordinação

Abstract

Guarana is a typical shrub from the Amazon Region and its cultivation is exclusively Brazilian. The cultivation tradition comes from the Sateré-Mawé Indians who were the first to identify the medicinal and energetic properties of the fruit. Currently, the State of Amazonas is the second largest guaraná producer in Brazil and the municipality of Maúes concentrates the largest production in the North Region. The guarana production process in Maués has unique characteristics due to the multiple forms of work organization that range from industrial production to sustainable agriculture. The installation of a multinational beverage company in the municipality caused social and environmental changes that impacted the organization of work, as the form of cultivation traditionally practiced by local farmers proved to be incompatible with the requirements of business logic. Faced with this scenario, the Associated Labor Organizations take on antagonistic stances moved on the one hand, by adapting to the business dynamics and, on the other hand, by the strategies of resistance to the monopoly of capital through more sustainable production alternatives. Among these stands out the sustainable agriculture adopted by several organizations in Maués. The main objective of this thesis is to analyze, based on the influence of the productive models, the different processes that gravitate towards the associated work organizations involved in the production of guaraná. The research was developed from the relationship between the quantitative and qualitative approaches, the results of the research come from primary and secondary sources and the results obtained in the data collection carried out during the field research. The study area will be the Alto Urupadi region, where the three organizations studied are located, namely the Alto Urupadi Family Farmers Association (AAFAU), Urupadi Community and Agricultural Association (ASCAMPA) and Sateré Mawé Producers Consortium (CPSM) . Interviewing and participant observation techniques guided the entire field research, in addition to the developed focus group applied to group activities. Different data collection instruments were applied, including the field notebook and forms with open and closed questions. The research informants were the workers and leaders of the associations, the leaders of the institutions involved in the production of guaraná and informants that we consider to be key sources of the research. The work revealed the constitution of the historical, social, cultural and political aspects that involve guaraná production, the dynamics of sustainable agriculture in this context and the particularities of the associated work in this production based on the experience of three associations and their performance in sustainable production.