Rural development, cooperative work and subjectivities: a study about the implementation of the Micro Watersheds State Program (PEMH) in Sepé Tiaraju

Abstract

Cooperative workers in rural settlements of land reform are facing different difficulties in organization management, caused by the rural development policy obligations or the cooperative relationships, which are becoming weak and mediated by intimacy and distrust. However, researchers found that the Micro Watersheds State Program (PEMH) implementation could strengthen cooperative and trust relationships. This doctorate project presents a research proposal, whose goal will be analyze the objective and subjective consequences of the participation in PEMH by three cooperatives and 31 families living in Sepe Tiaraju Rural Settlement, located in the administrative region of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo. The hypothesis is that the two years to implement the Program maybe aren't enough to deeply change the workers subjectivity. Despite this, even the unsuccessful work experience could be a parameter to this new working process and then improve the management. The method will follow the qualitative perspective through case study approach, whose procedures will involve revision of Psychosociology theory and literature, empirical observation, semi structured interviews and workshops. The data will be analyzed by the articulation between the different sources of information, which will be organized in thematic categories according to repetition of information. The research may contribute to policies evaluation who might better serve to rural workers, as well as to clarify the subjective dimension to these workers. In the future they also may be able to get more control of the cooperatives management. (AU)