Dar, receber, retribuir : práticas socioeconômicas no turismo rural.

Abstract

This research, by studying the tourist itinerary of Vale do Paraíso, in Três Cachoeiras/ RS, sought to understand the logic of Collective Action and reciprocity in the work with rural tourism. In the recent decades, the rural area has gone through resignifications that ended up stimulating activities not onlybased on agriculture. The rural tourism is one of these activities that, in certain communities, has been used to add income to the rural properties and to stimulate the valorization of the culture and local environment, contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of the inhabitants of rural areas. The theoretical and empirical restlessness that permeated this thesis was to understand why some communities manage to develop such rural tourism projects, in an endogenous way and working collectively, while many others do not. The initial understanding was that farmers who work with tourism would be inserted into a logic that favors subjective social relationships, which stimulate such practices. Therefore, the research conducted aimed to answer following question: in which ways the reciprocal relationships stimulate the articulation of farmers around common actions, keeping them configured in a rural tourism route? To answer this question, the researcher sought to understand the historical process of sociocultural constitution of the community studied, as well as the constitution of the touristic route. Researcher also sought to identify practices of collective action and elements that would lead to reciprocity relations and practices in the community studied. Thus, the common thread of this thesis consisted from the Theory of Collective Action (OSTROM, 2000) and Theory of Reciprocity (SABOURIN, 2011a). The results pointed to the existence of two socioeconomic logics in Vale do Paraíso: the logic of exchange and the logic of reciprocity. The last is the one that appears to encourage farmers to work together towards a common goal. The conclusion is that farmers who are part the tourist itinerary Vale do Paraíso, can, despite of the modern context of pursuit of profit maximization, give, receive and give back and, thus, contribute to a development project for the place they inhabit.