O queijo coalho do nordeste do Brasil: desafios e possibilidades na construção de uma cadeia de valor cultural na visão de especialistas

Abstract

Traditional food reflects practices linked to the history, culture, memory and heritage of its people. In this sense, the development and establishment of artisanal cheeses in the context of popular eating habits represents the rescue of ancestral traditions and relevant practices from a nutritional and economic point of view, in addition to raising knowledge and practices transmitted over the years. The culture of artisanal coalho cheese, a typical food from the Northeast region of Brazil, is part of these meanders, being a secular agri-food product of this territory and facing deleterious effects in the contemporary world. Inserted in food modernity, in which senses of homogenization of tastes, industrialization and deterritorialization of productions are favored, it is possible to visualize, through devices of valorization and safeguard, possible paths contrary to their invisibility and lack of recognition. The focus of this dissertation was to analyze, in the light of actors who know this reality, crossed views on this theme. Following a perspective linked to the artisanal rennet phenomenon, its production and commercial chain and the recovery and safeguarding devices, the reality of interest was investigated through the application of in-depth, semi-structured and qualitative interviews. The application of content analysis as an exploration tool allowed us to categorize the main difficulties in the production and commercial chain of this food, as well as to highlight the perceptions of the interviewees about the strategies of differentiation and valorization of this food item of singular value. Based on this development, it is understood that both intangible cultural heritage, geographical indications and the Art Seal are strategies capable of solving certain difficulties, and should be seen as complementary ways to build cultural value within this chain. The biggest challenge will possibly be to make its members aware of the importance of associativism as a beneficial resource, given the distrust and skepticism of the agents that work within this production chain. The construction of social capital is shown as a way to strengthen the demands of individuals and a more promising scenario for artisanal coalho cheese from the point of view of its real importance.