“ Roçado vira capoeira! ”: dinâmica das práticas agrícolas de tiradores de açaí no município de Afuá – Pará

Abstract

This dissertation describes and analyzes, through a case study, agricultural and extractive practices performed by riverine communities in the Queimada Island, in the municipality of Afuá, State of Pará, Brazil. The objective is to understand and highlight the articulation of riverine family farming and management of natural resources, through which they seek their physical and social reproduction as Amazonian autonomous peasant communities. We studied three family units of production, whose practices on their small agricultural fields and

extractive activities on açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), express local economic rules, which co- exist within hegemonic market economy. Participant and direct observation and open-ended

interviews during their daily activities allowed us to record the history of the areas and gave us details about their productive decision-making processes. We also examined the historical and geographical contexts and the social relationships within and among the studied households. The intensification of market demands for açaí promoted not only interference on families’ relations to land, but also on the natural resource management. Despite these interferences, the articulation of farming and extractive activities promoted the diversification of their agricultural slash-and-burn fields, with varied combination of species throughout the seasons. Above all, the results show that, although extraction of açaí became more visible due to regional, national and international market demands, many less visible agricultural practices also ensure the autonomy of this Amazonian peasants community.