Between stones and flowers: Community Organization and the Development of Tourism in the Lajedos Region in Cariri Paraíba
Community Organization. Community Based Tourism. Local Tourism Development. Marinho Community. Bravo Community. Cariri Paraíba.
The Cariri Paraibano region, marked by the Caatinga landscape framed by flagstones, has seen an increase in tourist activity in recent years, driven, among many factors, by geomorphological and archaeological attributes, cinematographic productions, crafts and gastronomy. Tourism presents itself, at least within the scope of discourse, as an important vector for local development and improving the quality of life of communities. In 2017, Sebrae/PB launched the “Rota dos Lajedos” project, to promote activities such as geotourism, ecotourism and experiences within communities. However, tourism development requires an inclusive approach that involves the active participation of local communities in decision-making. In this area, there is a form of tourism, commonly known as Community-Based Tourism (TBC), which values participatory management and the protagonism of local subjects as central agents in the tourism development processes in their respective territories. Thus, the research has the general objective of analyzing how the rural communities of Marinho and Bravo, located in Cariri Paraibano, are socially organized and integrated into the tourism production chain, revealing the factors that explain their different forms of community organization and proximity to the development of Community-Based Tourism. The research is characterized as exploratory, with a qualitative analysis approach. The information was collected in fieldwork in the two target communities of the study, using two research techniques: participant observation and semi- structured interviews with community members and leaders and external agents involved with local tourism. The results demonstrate that the presence of certain social organizers in communities led to different forms of management and involvement with local tourism. Furthermore, it was observed that external actions, such as partnerships and connections with different projects and experiences, promoted the development of local tourism, becoming a differentiating factor for community engagement.