Rural social innovation in practices of solidarity economy in the Cooptar collective in Southern Brazil

Abstract

Disputes over land and the struggle for the right to work and dignified life for rural workers have been going on for a long time in Brazil. They are currently reconfigured based on new forms of exclusion that characterize the “new rural.” Rural social innovation (RSI) comprises a broad process of social change, capable of contributing to dealing with challenges and, providing opportunities for social inclusion and overcoming inequalities. This article aimed to understand the transforming potential of the RSI developed at the Cooperativa de Produção Agropecuária Cascata Ltda. (Cooptar), a Collective resulting from one of the agrarian settlements formed from the occupation of the Annoni Farm in Rio Grande do Sul by the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). Methodologically, the case study was based on documental research, observation, 24 semi-structured interviews with cooperative families and external technicians, and content analysis. The findings showed that, through processes of ongoing training and protagonism of the members of the collective, Cooptar exists and has been self-renewing for 33 years in its interpersonal and family relationships (confronting individualism and gender inequality), practices of solidarity economy (collective ownership and self-management) and diversification in production processes, constituting a true culture of transformative and solidary social innovation.