Construções Tradicionais Resguardadas no Meio Rural Brasileiro: Um Estudo em um Assentamento de Reforma Agrária

Abstract

Today, buildings and homes constructed in the rural areas for family farming units, mainly in the State of Sao Paulo, are built from conventional building materials, such as bricks, known as masonry. However, this study highlights the significance of traditional knowledge of these small farmers, which was combined and enhanced with new technologies, as well as traditional building techniques that deal with the aspects of Brazilian cultural history, through the use of local, natural and sustainable materials that are in balance with the surrounding ecosystem. Hence the research is aimed at exploring such local knowledge in a rural settlement in the State of Sao Paulo – 12 de Outubro Settlement (Horto Vergel), located in Mogi Mirim-SP, using semi-structured questionnaires, which were completed by 90 families, and in-depth interviews with 5 families from the settlement. The results of interviews with these settlers showed the community cultural wealth allowing for documentation of the traditional techniques used in the rural areas of Brazil. Moreover, these methods were applied over long periods of time until such methods were discontinued. Keywords: Popular architecture in Brazil; Family farming; Unconventional materials.