Seed Houses and the “Master’s Land”: A Study of the Ecology of Practices and Autonomy in Brazil’s Semi-arid Region

Abstract

Seed storage is part of peasant livelihoods in Brazil’s semi-arid region. This study is based on empirical research carried out in the semi-arid region of Sobral, in the north-eastern state of Ceará, with peasants who participate in Seed Houses. The study seeks to understand how peasants engaged in multiple struggles and produced what they identify as “autonomy from the master’s seeds,” even in a context where the so-called master maintains control over land. The main question can be presented as what comes into play in this autonomy constituted by Seed Houses? The investigation intends to contribute to related debates on the agrarian question and the dimensions of autonomy, analysing the ecology of practices associated with seeds exercised through the collective action of the Seed Houses, involving continuities between land and natural resources.