Patrimônio Agroindustrial: Inventário das fábricas de compotas de pêssego na área urbana de Pelotas (1950-1990).

Abstract

This research reconstitutes the trajectory of the peach cannery sector in the urban area of Pelotas, RS, Brazil. The work is based on a data collection carried out through the Inventory of the Urban Agroindustrial Heritage in the Peach Cannery Compote Sector in Pelotas and the discussion about the results under quantitative and qualitative lights. This inventory was strongly focused on orality and aimed to list all the peach compote factories in the city’s urban area. The studies period covered the decades from 1950 to 1990, which was the sector’s pinnacle, with the city known as the home of the “best compotes in Brazil”. The post-war period in Pelotas was marked by the development of the industry, the increase of the demand for housing and recurrent infrastructure problems. It was the food industry that had the greatest part of the workforce. The compote agroindustry especially presented itself as a more accessible option for the rural workers, who made up a significant part of this sector. The harvest workforce characteristics were also studied. In parallel, new boroughs and villages were occupied by harvest workers. This way, the study searched to highlight the repercussion of this agroindustry on the occupation of urban spaces, as well as the extent of its influence on infrastructure improvements. On another hand, the ensemble of registries of the vestiges of this agroindustry, in their material and immaterial aspects, forms an Agroindustrial Heritage that is linked to the collective memory of Pelotas’ community.