“Andar com as próprias pernas”: fatores condicionantes para a autonomia da juventude do grupo Balanço do Coqueiro

“Walk with your own legs”: conditions for the autonomy of young people from the Balanço do Coqueiro group

Abstract

Youth, considered a social category, is an important stage in human development and has several characteristics, including the search for autonomy. In rural areas, this group can face even more complex obstacles. The objective of this article is to present the conditioning factors for the youth autonomy of the Balanço do Coqueiro Group, composed of young people from the Sítio Coqueiro community, located in Assentamento Maceió, located in the municipality of Itapipoca, in the state of Ceará. For the development of this article, a descriptive, qualitative-quantitative research was carried out, based on a questionnaire with opinion questions, related to the following themes: characterization of the young people in the group; rural succession; youth autonomy; family and/or community support; education; agroecology; occupation/income; and public policies. From the collection, treatment and discussion of data, it can be concluded that the main factors that condition their autonomy were: income, education and recognition. Among the main challenges found in opposition to this autonomy, there are: the lack of public policies, lack of proper space for the group, few financial resources and rural succession. It is worth highlighting the strong influence of local culture and history on the group, as well as the presence of women and agroecology in their activities.