The partnership between an entrepreneurship support agency and an association: From conception to integration in fair trade

Abstract

This article describes the partnership between the Agency for Entrepreneurship and Small Business - SEBRAE/Santa Catarina - and the organization Toca Tapetes, discussing the process of inserting the organization Toca Tapetes, located in Santa Catarina/Brazil-, and it́s contribution to sustainable territorial development and economic plurality. This article was completed through a literature search and a case study in organizations Toca Tapetes and SEBRAE. It was used the observation technique, in visits during January 2009, and made interviews with members from Toca tapetes and SEBRAE, with semi-structured and non-disguised roadmap questions. The survey's deliverables are predominantly descriptive about the partnership process formation between organizations and integration of Toca Tapetes into the Fair Trade movement are presented, and relationships between variables and the central objective of the work are established. This study found that the case of SEBRAE and Toca Tapetes partnership is an example that resulted in the strengthening of an organization that contributes to sustainable and environmental friendly territorial development, based on an economic plurality concerned with citizenship values, as it managed to combine the need to change the reality of individuals to local tradition. Forging a partnership with SEBRAE was definitive for the increase of Tocás Tapetes activities, whether in education and training, promotion or inclusion in national competitions. The distinguishing feature of partnership to provide an effective contribution to the development lies in the effort of conceptual change, being action responsible for the community, the activity carried out, the environment, workers and the market. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.