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Rainério dos Santos, 58 years old, one of the pioneers of the occupation of the São Pedro Settlement.
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The 58-year-old farmer Rainério dos Santos was one of the pioneers of the occupation of the São Pedro Settlement. “In the beginning, we had to open a sting to pass Jerico, it was a sacrifice, hitchhiking in a log truck,” recalls the person from Paraná from Tuneiras do Oeste, who came with his family to Mato Grosso in 1979. “I was a young man who left his land due to lack of opportunities. I want young people here to have opportunities that I didn't have.”
The opportunities are being opened by the Mixed Cooperative of Farmers of the São Pedro Settlement (Coomasp), of which Rainério is president. A dream that he has been cherishing since the early 2000s, when he and a group of farmers entered the area and named the first community as a referral to paradise: Garden of Eden. The São Pedro Settlement was then an unproductive farm expropriated (in 1998) by the Federal Government for agrarian reform purposes. An immense area of 35,000 hectares — larger than metropolises like Belo Horizonte and Recife.
The opportunities are being opened by the Mixed Cooperative of Farmers of the São Pedro Settlement (Coomasp), of which Rainério is president. A dream that he has been cherishing since the early 2000s, when he and a group of farmers entered the area and named the first community as a referral to paradise: Garden of Eden. The São Pedro Settlement was then an unproductive farm expropriated (in 1998) by the Federal Government for agrarian reform purposes. An immense area of 35,000 hectares — larger than metropolises like Belo Horizonte and Recife.
As gigantic as the area was the challenge. “We had no idea of organization. To get school for our children, I went from house to house by bicycle, through the bites, to get the names of the children and ask the Paranaíta City Hall for a classroom”, recalls Rainério. The classroom was covered with coconut leaves, the tables and chairs made with wooden stumps. “We fought hard because it was our piece of land, the place where we would live and raise our children. Then there was no discouragement, we were very excited,” says Rainério.
However, many families gave up — there were 771 in the original survey, today there are 600. Those who resisted were able to see the birth of the cooperative, which was formed with the help of PRASP two years ago. They were also able to see the bites from passing Jerico turn into wide dirt roads where tractors and trucks circulate today.
However, many families gave up — there were 771 in the original survey, today there are 600. Those who resisted were able to see the birth of the cooperative, which was formed with the help of PRASP two years ago. They were also able to see the bites from passing Jerico turn into wide dirt roads where tractors and trucks circulate today.