Paper short abstract:

Nova Itapecirica is a rural community in the state of Bahia in Brazil, located in an ecosystem of extreme importance, the Atlantic Forest. It is a community that goes through immense um process of transformation and modernity, but it does not mean favorable conditions and decent life.

Paper long abstract:

Nova Itapecirica is a rural community composed of about 95 families located in the municipality of Itanagra in the state of Bahia in Brazil, located in an ecosystem of extreme importance, including the Atlantic Forest remains today only 95000km ² the natural environment, or 8% of its original size. These people are surrounded by fragile and important biome, with its economy as the basis for the 'Extrativisme' (the extraction of palm fiber), an activity that has been transmitted to several generations and held a large traditional knowledge. The village women extract from the forest piaçava, a palm high cultural and economic value used for making baskets that are sold in nearby villages. This community and surrounded by three separate variables: on one side by public policies aimed at the development of the region by supporting projects of tourism activity, by corporate pressure reforestation which drastically reduce their use of space and life and a high mobility of its members.