THE ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMEN AND THE TRADE FAIRS IN PARANÁ COAST

Abstract

The Paraná Coast is a traditional region of small farmers.Due to the distance from large consumer centers the families had some difficulties in making the commercialization of their rural production. In this context, the fairs had a significant appreciation by rural families, primarily because retail sales allowed greater financial gain and did not require the displacement up to the big cities, in addition to sharply using the female hand work as protagonist in the conduction of a new business model. Faced to sparse information on the subject, this study aimed to characterize women entrepreneurs in the fairs of Paraná Coast. For that, it was carried out descriptive exploratory survey with 65 women who worked in trade fairs, from May to July of 2013 in six cities that integrate the Paraná Coast. It was concluded that: the main type of activity exercised by these women of Paraná Coast (n = 96%) were classified as "entrepreneurial by necessity," who had the fair as the main form to have income and survival. Thus, the older these fairs women the more satisfied they were with the income obtained. Most fair women of Parana Coast reported that they were satisfied and they felt personally and professionally fulfilled acting at fairs.