Desenvolvimento e adaptação de equipamentos apropriados à colheita e processamento de frutas nativas

Abstract

The present work has as its theme the development of technologies applied to the harvest and processing of native fruits. It developed in the territory of Cantuquiriguaçu citizenship, an extremely impoverished region of the state of PR and in need of alternatives that collaborate for the social reproduction of rural populations. Its general objective is to understand the recurring problems of harvesting and processing native fruits in the Cantuquiriguaçu region and to build with farmers (alternatives) based on the use of social technologies, to minimize recurring problems. Through the action research method, he mapped the demands and needs of equipment for harvesting and processing native fruits, proposed the adaptation of a pulper and developed equipment for harvesting. Adaptations were tested by counting broken seeds and evaluated by statistical method. As for the harvesting equipment, they were evaluated together with the families and using a questionnaire.The results were positive, both for the adaptations of the pulper that proved to be efficient in reducing seed breakage, and for the harvesting equipment, which reduced the labor burden, in addition to providing a better quality post-harvest product. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of this type of work as it is developed in the perspective of action research for the construction of social technologies based on the needs of the social actors in question.