July 19

Field trip from Recife to the backlands within Pernumbuco

1. Outside Recife-Natuba
In Natuba we find the site of one of the former Mts camps (= former squatter camp) where people received land due to land reforms. This is a well succeeded formal land plan reform. The people here now are involved in truck farming for serving the market in Recife. The land was given to people who already worked on the land and thus knew how to work it. In the last 25 years these people have made arrangements with Walmart and other supermarkets and thus provide essential small-scale crops such as okra, coconut and other things.

Supermarkets were eager to find producers so they did not have to use airplanes to provide all these goods from the south. The same is truE for fast food restaurants.
The area was occupied initially by 300 families, so the industry supports roughly 1,000 people.

The new landless movement is about 15 years old.

15 km west of Recife we find the cut between the Brazilian Shield and the piedmont and lowlands. Vegetation in this very hilly area is referred to as 'caatinga' . We gain in altitude relatively fast. The soils are shallow, also due to lack of precipitation and Small-scale farming, cheese production,pineapple and other plants ofnthe ananas family. 
Many of the ridges are covered with new, second or third homes of people from the metropolitan area; a transformation of the natural landscape which is getting more and more common.

2. Gravata
This town is a rather large and well-to-do center of activity. We stopped for banking and postal services.

3. Caruaru
This is a little town based on the craft of clay figurines. In the last 15 years these figurines have become quite popular in Brazil so that they are shipped throughout the country. This , in turn, caused the little village to grow but it also  caused it to adapt its taste to that of the times leading to some interesting results.

4. Caruaru
This town sports a healthy cottage industry consisting of lace-making and similar handicrafts. In addition, a little further away from this town,  we find Brazil's jeans clothing industry which evolved from cottage industry to national status.

Physically, this area is close to the Pernambuco fault line which continues in the African country of Gabon. This is, even though at a passive margin geologically, tectonically the most active area in Brazil. Even though, no fatalities were reportedm due to earthquakes.