Economia solidária e a autonomia feminina na Associação de Agricultores Familiares das colônias Iapó, Santa Clara e Vizinhança

Abstract

The Public Policy programs of the Federal Government - Food Procurement Program (PAA) and National School Feeding Program (PNAE) has as common objective to encourage the production of food in family farming and the adequate and healthy diet of schoolchildren. The PAA guarantees the purchase Family farmers, provided that they are engaged to associations or cooperatives. The Community Kitchen Project counts on the partnership IESOL, which works with women on the importance of the solidarity economy for the family farming. The Association of Colonies provides in natura and processed for the Municipal Secretary of Education in the city of Castro - PR, meeting the requirements of such Programs. The present study aims to investigate the role of the Association of Colonies in the construction of women's financial autonomy through solidarity economy actions, through the Community Kitchen Project, where processed-baked products are manufactured. The collection of data was analysis of the responses to a questionnaire applied in all of the seventeen women. As a result, it was verified that, from work in the Association of Colonies women have established important relationships between them, leading to their visibility and identity, through professionalization and consequent improvement of the quality of life through material achievements. This promoted insertion in the public space, extrapolating the private space. It is also worth noting importance of the incentive and production of regional products, bringing results not immediately measurable, such as generation of wealth and technological development. The highlighted weaknesses are associated with the lack of strategic planning and the knowledge of basic management tools and economics, still without autonomy to manage the complete process and lack of knowledge of the profit margin and break-even point.