CETRA - Centro de Estudos do Trabalho e de Assessoria Trabalhador

The Centro de Estudos do Trabalho e de Assessoria ao Trabalhador – CETRA, Organização da Sociedade Civil (OSC) has its history told through the people who built it. Officially created in December 30, 1981, in Ceará State, had as foundation the work that was already being developed since 1978, when the lawyer Antonio Pinheiro Freitas, known as Mr. Pinheiro, was invited by the Priest Moacir Cordeiro Leite, vicar in Aratuba, CE at the time, to provide legal assistance to rural workers that were organizing themselves towards the fight for land tenure. The work there involved legal and social assistance which included political training process with this social segment, through courses, meetings, study groups and basic publications and adopted, in this process, as it still does, a participatory methodology. From Aratuba, this action embraced the Baturité Massif and its surrounding. Considering the ecclesial closeness with the Central Backwoods, this actions reached Quixadá and Quixeramobim communities that saw themselves in the project and were participating on the CEBs in Aratuba.

The actions and activities developed by CETRA follow the strategic lines that make up the Institutional Mission:

Contribute on the improvement of family farmers life quality through Agroecology, Coexistence with Semi-arid and Socioeconomic Solidarity, considering the economic, political, socio-environmental, cultural, gender and ethnicity dimensions, having as a principle the universalization of human rights, in order to build a fair, free and egalitarian society.

The strategic lines that guide the execution of CETRA’s projects and actions:

1. Agroecology and Coexistence with Semi-arid

2. Socio-environmental Actions

3. Socioeconomic Solidarity

4. Strengthen Social Organizations and Networks

5. Rural Youth

6. Women

7. Communication