Santa Catarina settlement-PB: public policies and theliving with the semi-arid

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of construction and consolidation of the peasant territory of the Santa Catarina settlement, located in the municipality of Monteiro -Paraíba. In the reflections presented throughout the text, we start from the understanding that the conquest of land and public policies based on living with the semiarid are fundamental elements for the reproduction of life for peasant families. From a methodological point of view, several procedures were used, such as bibliographical research, aiming to reflect, before direct contact with the settled families, the notions and theoretical understanding of the struggle for land and the process of building a peasant territory, and field work which included a visit to the settlement to apply interviews with settlers in order to understand the process of formation of the settlement, the ways of working on the land, production, levels of organization and how public policies helped the settlers to remain on the land. We found that the forms of organization of the settlement and the results resulting from government actions are strengthening the desire to remain on the land and enabling the socioeconomic reproduction of settlers and households.