Jalapão Brazil Is Pure Adventure And Nature

Jalapão Brazil Is Pure Adventure And Nature

Jalapão: a main route for people who practice eco-tourism and adventure tourism. It is impossible to find equal scenario anywhere in the world.

Jalapão has cinematographic scenery. It has abundant waterfalls, rivers and lakes. And all of this is punctuated by fine, reddish sand dunes in the midst of sparse backwoods vegetation. It is no doubt the perfect background for tourism and radical sports such as rafting, canyoning and vertical modalities.

It is a place that is attractive and rustic, ready to be conquered. It derived its name from a common habit in the region. Jalapa-do-Brasil is a native plant used to cure stomach ailments. Because of its bitter flavor, local inhabitants normally eat it with a piece of bread. That is where the juxtaposition comes from: jalapa-pão (pão is bread in Portuguese).

No matter what, Jalapão impresses with its pure size: it occupies approximately 20% of the State of Tocantins. Sandstone plateaus that reach one thousand meters in height dominate the landscape. They say that here is where the sea became the hinterland. It would be a desert, if Jalapão were not also a paradise of waters and a place where the presence of flowers and exotic animals jumps to the eye. A call for contemplation and adventure. Despite being considered a desert, the fauna abound: the maned wolf, the pampas deer, the rhea, the great anteater, the jaguar and other regional species hide in the typical hinterland vegetation to escape the punishing sun that accentuates the dry climate with its constant 30ºC temperature. The biggest surprise for all those who venture here is to find an abundance of perennial rivers with transparent and still pure water.

Attractions

Brejo da Cama Waterfalls
This is in the middle of the plateau, in a hole. The road to Chiquinho Farm, 50 km.

Cachoeira da Velha Falls
Fed by the Rio Novo River, the Cachoeira da Velha waterfall is the largest of Jalapão and one of its main attractions. There, the waters run in great quantity, falling into two separate falls in the shape of a horseshoe, each of more than 20 meters wide. The falls are an imposing spectacle in which nature shows its exuberance and all its strength.

Right next to the waterfall there is a small beach, of calm freshwater and surrounded by gallery forest. The trail to reach the small beach is an attraction in itself, easy to walk through, with stops on the way for sightseeing and resting.

Cachoeira da Formiga Waterfall
The Cachoeira do Formiga is a small water fall surrounded by lush vegetation, with tall trees, and native palm trees. But the true spectacle is the pool that forms at the foot of the waterfall, where enchanting emerald-green waters invite for a dive. It is a jewel where you can bathe and see all the way to the ground, with calcareous sand.

.
.
.
.

Fauna
The most observed animals are the wildcats, deer, capybaras, foxes, monkeys and small mammals. Besides the common types of fauna found in the hinterland, several endangered species can be found in the Jalapão region, such as the maned wolf, puma, pampas deer and tapir. The regional bird fauna has species such as the macaw, parrot, toucan, rhea, crested seriema, and lapwing. Among the reptiles, one finds the anaconda, boa, rattlesnake, chameleon, tegu lizard and many more.
.

Fervedouro
It seems like an oasis. Amidst closed vegetation, swamps and streams, there is a place of rare beauty surrounded by banana trees. In its center is a large pool of transparent blue water - in reality, the spring of an underground river. The water that springs from clear sand creates the phenomenon of upwelling, which makes it impossible for the most persistent swimmer to submerge. In Fervedouro, you'll have fun and get to know the real feeling of lightness.

.
.

Lajeado Waterfalls
There are a series of steps over which the water runs until forming a 10m high waterfall and natural pool. It is necessary to climb down a stairway of stones, some of which are very slippery. The road to Chiquinho Farm, 45 km.
.

Mumbuca Village
In your tour through the Jalapão valley it is worth reserving time to visit a traditional village, Mumbuca, 35 km away from the city of Mateiros. It was in this place, formed in majority by slave descendants, that the much popular handcraft in golden grass emerged.

Follow the skillful hands of women of working Mumbuca the golden grass, producing craft pieces that will be distributed throughout Brazil and in several countries.

Mumbuca has less than 200 residents. There, men and women have very definite roles. Men plant for family consumption, while women reap the production and prepare meals, in addition of course to working as artisans.

Prainha of the Cachoeira da Velha Falls
After enjoying the exuberance of the Cachoeira da Velha falls, it is time to take the trail of approximately one hour that leads to the small beach, a very pleasant place, with shade, calm freshwater, and lush gallery forest.

Some of Jalapão’ tourists find at “prainha” an ideal place for camping, spending more time in contact with nature. Others are content swimming in its waters, enjoying the beauty of the scenery.
.
.

Pedra Furada Hill
An opening in the rock, carved by erosion and the wind. The road to Pindorama do Tocantins, 31 km.

Rafting
Every adventurer who goes to Jalapão has a certain destination: rafting on the Rio Novo rapids. But you need not be experienced or even able to swim to face the sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm waters. You should only be equipped with safety accessories supplied by the tourist agencies.

There are two options. The first is the long distances that take up to four days, where you get to experience high level difficulty waterfalls and make stops in small beaches of white sand that build up on the banks of the river. The second option, which is much faster and chosen by most tourists, is a descent that lasts three hours (six kilometers).

The best season to practice rafting is from May to September, the period of drought in Tocantins State. It is at this time also that the roads with access to Jalapão offer better traffic conditions.

Rio Novo River
One of the last rivers of drinking water in the world, Rio Novo has fully crystalline appearance, making vivid the wilderness that surrounds it and the beautiful beaches that are formed along its banks.

Rafting is common in the waters of Rio Novo River. But there is room for other sports such as canoeing, rappelling, cross-buoy (downhill by river’s rapids in individual buoys) and acquaride (where the player is prone on top of the buoy).
.
.

Sand Dunes
A scenario both unexpected as unforgettable, formed by huge dunes of golden sand (of quartz sand), up to 30 meters in height. Imagine the feeling of walking on the sand contemplating the sunset in the center of a landscape like this!

The dunes of Jalapão are in constant motion, driven by winds. Around it is the Espírito Santo Mountain with sandy formation, which the wind gust causes erosion, thus, creating the dunes.
.
.

Serra do Espírito Santo Mountain
Postcard of the region, Espírito Santo Mountain is an imposing rise, which through the process of erosion (rain and winds), creates the dunes that are formed at its feet.

There is also a gazebo in the mountain, where after an hour of walking toward the summit, you can get a privileged view of the entire region. The top of the mountain is a large flat area, which resembles an immense elevated table. It's the perfect place to enjoy the landscapes and horizons of Jalapão.
.

Suçuapara Canyon
This canyon is 60m long and 15m high. It was opened by the water running over the sandstone, thus forming the small canyon and the waterfall. Moss and hundreds of ferns grow along the steep slopes. The road to Mateiros, 15 km.

Basic information:

• State: Tocantins
  
• Region: North
  

The region’s climate is called sub-humid (AW), with maximum annual temperatures between 30°C and 32°C from August to November, partly due to the end of the dry season when smoke from the burning brush in the hinterland contributes to higher temperatures, and lows of between 18º and 19ºC, in June and July.

There are two well-defined seasons during the year: the rainy season, between October and April and the dry season, between May and September.

There is no support structure in the park. The cities of Mateiros and Ponte Alta serve as support stations for visitors. Both have hotels, restaurants, tourism agencies and guides that take visitors on excursions.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

Brazilian Tourism - Social and Environmental Impacts

Natal - Rio Grande do Norte

Natal - Rio Grande do Norte

Cliffs, rivers discharging in the sea and mangroves full of natural life complement the spectacle that converts the capital city of the State of Rio Grande do Norte into one of the most attractive tourism options in Brazil. In Natal, visitors can enjoy more than 300 sunny days a year. White dunes surrounded by coconut groves, clear and warm waters – everything there conspires to make your stay in the city the most pleasant as possible.

Attractions

Alberto Maranhão Theater
It was built in 1904 in neoclassical style. It is open from Monday to Friday, from 8h to 18h.

Três Reis Magos Fort
Constructed in 1598, it was occupied by the Dutch from 1633 to 1654. The shape of the Fort resembles a 5-point star. There are guided tours in the Fort. It is open everyday, from 8h to 16h30.

Santo Antônio (do Galo) Church
Work dated 1799 in baroque style. There is a museum of religious arts. It is open for visitation from Tuesday to Sunday, always from 9h to 17h.

Câmara Cascudo Museum
Its collection houses fossils, skeletons and Indigenous utensils. It is located at Hermes da Fonseca Avenue, 1398 – Tirol. It is open from Tuesday to Friday, from 8h to 10h30 and from 14h to 16h30. On Saturdays and Sundays, from 13h to 17h.

Pirangi Cashew Tree
That is the biggest cashew tree in the world, with a crown of 8,400 square meters. It is located at Dep. Márcio Marinho Avenue.

Tourism Center
A former prison built in the 19th Century. There visitors find handicraft and gift shops. Every Thursday it stages the “Forró com o Turista”, at 22h. The Center is located at Aderbal de Figueiredo Street, 980 – Petrópolis. It is open everyday, from 9h to 19h.

Barreira do Inferno
Brazilian rocket launch base. There are guided tours. It is located at Rota do Sol, in the municipality of Parnamirim, 19km far from Natal.

Shopping

Hand-woven Lace
There is a cooperative in Natal that gathers about 20 lace-makers. They weave tablecloths, stair carpets, etc.

Beaches

do Forte
There is where the Três Reis Magos Fort is located. Visitors can enjoy wonderful natural bathing pools.

do Meio
The beach is closer to the city’s downtown, but there are many reefs.

Barreira D’água
The beach is very long, but some sites are not proper for bathing because of the large number of reefs.

Ponta Negra
One of the most famous beaches in Natal. There is a boardwalk and nice sites for sea-bathing. It houses the Morro do Careca – a dune of 120m in height that lends its beauty to the landscape. That is one of the postcards of the city.

do Cotovelo
The waves are mild and there are wonderful cliffs on the south end.

Pirangi do Norte
Most of the vacation houses are found there. The beach has countless natural bathing pools, where one can practice the free diving.

Pirangi do Sul
Mild waves, some reefs and many natural bathing pools.

Búzios
There are strong waves and dunes.

Barra de Tabatinga
Full of cliffs and reefs, the beach is a site for watching dolphins during the high tide.

Camurupim
With mild waves, it houses the Arituba Pond.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

Tourismus: Balneário Camboriú - Brasilien

Brazilian Tourism - Social and Environmental Impacts

Brazilian Tourism - Social and Environmental Impacts

Brazil’s potential for leisure and tourism based, among other factors, on its magnificent landscapes, pleasant climates, and rich biodiversity, has only recently begun to develop destinations for international travelers and domestic holidaymakers.

Though tourism has ample scope for expansion in Brazil, to a great extent the prospects of this sector are dependent upon water resources, and many of its activities could be severely jeopardized by damage to the quality and quantity of these resources.

As the Brazilian people become increasingly aware of environmental issues, eco-tourism particularly has gained ground, as well as fishing trips, and travel reflecting rising interest in scientific and technological themes. In this specialized travel and tourism segment, Brazil is host to increasing numbers of foreign visitors, attracted mainly to unique areas such as the Pantanal wetlands and Amazonia.

However, this type of tourism requires special attention, in view of its potential impacts on the environment and local communities. This requires policies that foster activities aimed at promoting sustainable social and environmental practices.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

State of Ceará: Investment Opportunities

State of Ceará: Investment Opportunities

State of Ceará: Investment Opportunities - The CRAJUBAR region of Cariri (Crato, Juazeiro and Barbalha) has significant economic development potential. In the Cariri region, tourism and manufacturing industries, such as footwear, have been major drivers of private investment.

Tourism in the region encompasses a variety of activities ranging from religious to scientific, cultural, ecological and commercial. Most tourists come for religious reasons, to celebrate the legacy of Father Cicero, an influential Catholic priest who resided in Juazeiro do Norte during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Major events in honor of Father Cicero take place throughout the year in Juazeiro and the city hosts nearly 1,800,000 pilgrims each year, mainly from the Northeastern region. Most of the jobs in Juazeiro are tourism-related (restaurants, commerce, handcrafts, lodging) and a large portion of them informal. Other municipalities in the Cariri region also have significant potential for tourism, as the region holds an extensive fossil basin which, under UNESCO’s auspices, is lending to the creation of the first geopark in the Americas. Given its peculiar nature, rich culture, emerging commerce and geographic location, Cariri region has become one of the preferred sites for tourism business events.

Finally, the shoe industry in Cariri ranks as third largest in Brazil, is responsible for nearly 8,000 jobs and approximately 40% of shoe firms located in Ceará. Small and medium firms prevail, however, with a corresponding lack of skilled labor, innovation capacity, technical knowledge and market information. With heightened global competitive pressure in this sector, it is critical that the sector be upgraded in terms of design, technology, skills, marketing and other innovations.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

Brazilian flavors: Bahia

Brazilian flavors: Bahia

Brazilian flavors: Bahia
by Ericivaldo Veiga

The city of Salvador was founded to meet the expanding needs of the Portuguese mercantile system and to serve as the capital of Brazil for over two centuries. The city became the most important trading post in the colony. Single-culture agriculture, especially with sugarcane in the Brazilian Northeast or mineral extraction, formed significant cycles in the exploitation of the resources of the lands that had been discovered. This type of appropriation was based on slave labor brought by the thousands from several African regions. There was a time when the city’s black population was larger than that of white people formed by the economic elites, the clergy, administrators and poor white people. Although trading activities with Portugal were centered in Salvador and the Recôncavo, he colonialist venture also penetrated the hot and humid regions of the south as well as the vast region known as the Hinterland, which is characterized by the presence of caatingas, meadows, mountains, and valleys.

With a heterogeneous geographic and cultural development, the hinterland is less populated and still stigmatized by constant droughts. The anthropologist and essay writer Antônio Risério, who is also an observer of contemporary life in Salvador, believes that the transfer of the colonial capital to Rio de Janeiro, which was motivated by political and economic factors, led the city to isolation and to the development of an ethnically diversified population.

It is no longer a secret the fact that the cuisine of Bahia is diversified and that researchers complain about the prevailing interest for the cuisine of the capital and the Recôncavo, which is predominantly marked by dishes of African origin or dishes containing palm oil. During the 20th Cultural Meeting of Laranjeiras, held in the state of Sergipe, in the mid-1990s, the Bahia-born folklore researcher Hildegardes Vianna, in her “Breve Notícia da Alimentação na Bahia” complains about the lack of research “on the State’s hinterland and southern cuisine”. She tries to fill in the gap by presenting a short list of seafood dishes found in the cuisine of the southern region of Bahia bathed by the Atlantic Ocean: crab and fish dishes, and westwards, in the border with the State of Minas Gerais, meat and seafood dishes from the East Coast. The typical cuisine of the hinterland of Bahia, in turn, is presented by Vianna as being sober and a reflex of the poverty environment. In the basin of the São Francisco river, the daily cuisine is marked by the presence of manioc root flour and goat meat, fresh beans and manioc mush, in which the flour is scalded in milk, meat or fish broth.

The engineer and professor at the Engineering School of the Federal University of Bahia, Guilherme Radel has recently written the recipe book entitled “A Cozinha sertaneja da Bahia”. The book reveals secrets of the hinterland cuisine and shows its evolution. In the introduction, Radel’s hinterland cuisine is refined both in the technique and in the ingredients, although they can all be found in the region. The author helps to reveal the secret of the new flavors and confirms the lack of dissemination of other Bahia dishes as well as the dictatorship of the palm oil. According to the author “The hinterland cuisine spreads throughout Bahia and its presence is weaker exactly where the presence of the Afro-Bahia and Indigenous cuisines is stronger: in Salvador, in the Recôncavo, and on the shore. In the interior of Bahia, people eat basically the dishes that are typical of hinterland cookery: beans; different types of sun-dried meat dishes; sautéed, stewed, and roasted goat, lamb and pork; meninico; goat or mutton haggis; pork giblets; sautéed and stewed chicken; milk mush; mush made of corn meal; pumpkin purée; cassava; pumpkin; maxixe (a type of gherkin); fresh beans cooked in butter; golden-fried manioc meal; and a dish made of goat and golden-fried manioc meal. Such is the structure of hinterland cookery, which is undoubtedly the main contribution to the cuisine of Bahia.

However, this very important aspect is not fairly disseminated, thereby allowing the Afro-Bahia cuisine to make up the so-called cuisine of Bahia, as if the African people had been the only ones to contribute to its development.

In the set of recipes recorded by the author there are 362 different dishes made of goat, lamb, pork, beef, poultry, eggs, fish, and game.

The secrets of religion are one of the elements responsible for the frequent use of the much-criticized palm oil in hinterland cookery. The religious syncretism of African origin extends, so to speak, to hinterland cookery during the Passion Week. Radel records 14 dishes containing palm oil in hinterland cookery, which are included in the category of food for occasions of “fasting and rules”.

The fixation of researchers with the Bahia cuisine of African origin might be explained by historical reasons. Something similar occurs with the candomblé brought to Bahia by the Yoruba people to the detriment of the candomblé of Bantu origin, among other groups of African matrices.

Particularly in Bahia, where the presence of certain African groups could not be matched by any other Brazilian region, cookery has been strongly influenced by this interaction process that made up the Brazilian society. The strong presence, especially of spices such as the palm oil, has contributed to the development of the cooking system of the Bahia cuisine. In his text entitled “Dietas Africanas”, the anthropologist Vivaldo da Costa Lima expressed the methodological lines to understand the Afro-Bahia cuisine, which has been mistakenly disseminated as a homogeneous cooking system. According to Costa Lima, the cuisine of Bahia is “The cuisine of a whole geographic sub-region of Bahia known as “Recôncavo”. The cuisine that developed in the region – the Bahia cuisine – is also popularly known as oil food, in an allusion to the palm oil, which is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the Elaesis Guineensis palm tree.

Different types of pepper are “another constant ingredient in Bahia cookery”, especially the Capsicum pepper, of the solanaceous family.

In his book entitled “A Bahia do Século XVIII”, Luís dos Santos Vilhena, a Greek professor who lived in Bahia late in the 18th century, offers us a menu of African dishes sold in the streets of Salvador which, in Vilhena’s view as a foreigner are “despicable and insignificant”:

“It is impossible not to notice eight, ten, and even more black men and women coming out of the wealthier houses in this city, where major negotiations and deals are made, to sell in the streets the most insignificant and despicable things, such as different sorts of delicacies like calf’s foot, carurus, vatapás, mingaus (porridge), pamonha, canjica, i.e., corn mush, acaçá (corn meal and rice flour mush), acarajé, ubobó, coconut rice, coconut beans, angu (mush made of corn meal), and the most shocking thing: dirty water mixed with honey and other ingredients known as aloá, which black people drink as lemonade.”

The menu presented by Vilhena reveals trends of a hybrid – although already Brazilian – Bahia cuisine. These trends will be expressed mainly among folklore researchers of regional-oriented mind and sociologists.

In “Arte Culinária na Bahia” published late in the 1920s, Manoel Querino expresses interest in the “customs and habits of each region”; he introduces Bahia cookery as a hybrid cuisine in “the ethnical development of Brazil”.

In the end of the 1930s, Sodré Vianna retired to a voodoo center to copy 50 recipes of Bahia cookery, which he later on published in his Xangô Journal. The same author, in the text entitled “Sauces of Bahia”, published in the Anthology of Food in Brazil and organized by Luís da Câmara Cascudo, emphasizes the preference of the people of Bahia for sauces especially prepared with red pepper. In the same anthology, writer J. M. Cardoso de Oliveira describes a dinner served in Bahia in 1889. A history of passion filled with moquecas (broiled fish), efó (vegetable paste with dried shrimp, palm oil, red pepper and other spices), acarajé, abará (dish made with beans, pepper and palm oil, and rolled in banana leaves), acaçá (corn meal and rice four mush)... Food is as much an element of the house as its windows and residents. As Cardoso de Oliveira wrote in his aforementioned book:

“On the window sills there was a line of bowls of sweets. On the table, bowls of beaten eggs and dough, and nutmeg and sugar clove packets lined up. In the corner, Inacinha, although nauseated, prepared the sponge cake, the coconut pudding, the manuês (variety of corn cake made with honey); in the kitchen the girls prepared the caruru made of okra and leaves, sifted the flour for the vatapá, cleaned the shrimps for the efó. In the grocery stores on the same street, African women would provide the abará, the acarajés and the aberéns (baked cakes made of corn, sugar and water, and rolled in banana leaves). D. Eugênia was in charge of making the cassava cupcakes, the small milk acaçás, and her two specialties: coconut and cheese cupcakes and smoked bacon. But she interfered everywhere, tasting something here, adding butter there”.

It is in the book entitled “História da Alimentação no Brasil” that Câmara Cascudo gives us one of the most complete descriptions of Brazilian cookery. He describes in detail the menu of cooking techniques and the sociological aspects of the Brazilian cuisine. Although he ate vatapá and caruru in Salvador, at some of his colleagues’ from the medicine course, in 1918, he restricts these dishes, in sociological terms, to the popular scope.

Sociologist Gilberto Freyre visited Bahia in the 1930s and was impressed with the politeness and the cuisine of the people of Bahia, as he wrote in the foreword of his “Casa Grande e Senzala”. Freyre, who was Franz Boas’ student at Columbia University, praised the sweets and cakes prepared in the Brazilian northeast, as recorded in the book entitled “Açúcar”. It is a sociology of sweets, whose first edition dates back to 1939.

The books by folklore writers Hildegardes Vianna and Darwin Brandão, which have the same name - “A cozinha baiana” – describe the Afro-Bahia cuisine of Salvador and the Recôncavo.

Roger Bastide, a French sociologist, was particularly interested in palm oil dishes within the context of the candomblé.

Costa Lima describes this cuisine in its religious context and in the observation of its dynamics in the secular context, as seen in the text entitled “Etnocenologia – e etnoculinária – do acarajé”. The author of this article studied the Bahia cuisine of African origin through a methodological approach that adopts the perspective of the Training Restaurant of Bahia cookery of the National Service of Commercial Apprenticeship (SENAC).

The institution developed a six-month cooking course on Bahia dishes aimed at the hotel-tourism market. The course reflects the vicissitudes of its organization and of the professional market in times of globalization.

The dissemination of popular culture, particularly of the Bahia cuisine of African origin, which has been transformed into icons through delicacies such as the acarajé, the abará, the vatapá, the caruru and the shrimp bobó has contributed to the development of important supramaterial conditions in the rationalization of tourism: an image that defines Bahia as a special and unique place for its cuisine and the happiness of its people reinforce these conditions. Writers and artists from Bahia are the most important disseminators of this image that was built in the historical and cultural process of the daily lives of the people of Bahia. The mid-19th century is the time limit when the image of Bahia as the land that nourishes traditions was established. Salvador, the state capital, is still proud of its status as the “queen of the Atlantic”, which has been consolidated by its commercial position in relation to the Southern Atlantic Ocean: “Europe, France and Bahia” is an expression of the Brazilian folklore, which was probably coined in the 19th century and reveals the status of Bahia. An analogy translated as something like Paris in relation to Europe, and Bahia (Salvador or the city of Bahia) in relation to the New World (America).

The secrets of the flavors of Bahia also imply observing the movement of tradition and modernity. As a result, we witness the emergence of new cooks and the gastronomic and occupational reinvention of the cuisine of Bahia. Many cooks like D. Flor, a character in Jorge Amado’s novel “D. Flor e seus dois maridos” (D. Flor and her two husbands), a book in which palm oil dishes color the pages of the book golden yellow. Cooks like Dadá, Alaíde, Dinha and Cira – all of whom are heirs of the guardians of the practical know-how of the cuisine of Bahia, old cooks of centuries-old families or of the candomblé centers of Bahia. But they also preserve tradition by including the new and welcoming reinvention.

On the other hand, the Bahia cuisine of African origin is being used by NGOs and community institutions such as African groups during carnival as a pedagogic element to bring education, self-esteem, and citizenship especially to youths of African origin; black organizations with strong mobilization power set up cooking festivals to entertain and preserve the memory and identity of the cuisine of Bahia.

The African cuisine of Bahia therefore fulfills its political role and wants more than just reproducing the biological existence of its fans. The food, although aimed at consumption, preserves and renews the memory kept in taste, in the sound of boiling palm oil, in the piquancy of the red pepper, in the crispness of the acarajé. These secrets and flavors are revealed to help strengthen and renew humanity.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

State of Sergipe: a great place also to invest

State of Sergipe: a great place also to invest

State of Sergipe: a great place also to invest

With a privileged geographic localization, in the central axle of the main markets of the Northeast region, Sergipe is the smallest Brazilian state territorially speaking, but it is the best well structured among its neighbor states of the Northeast region.

Sergipe has the major GIP per capta of its region and it is a regional center in ascension, with its beautiful beaches, modern services, security and free of the stress of big metropolises.

The state is rich in mineral resources. It has a modern and diversified industrial park. It is a mark in the agro business, in the tourism, in the culture of shrimps and similar ones, in the energetic sector, in the civil and naval construction, in the area of technology, in the health sector. Aracaju has the second major income per capita among the northeast capitals and in the interior, the main cities are growing and becoming developed. Besides that, Sergipe is the land of a hard working people who is ready to build a great state, with opportunities for all.

Set on a privileged location, in the middle of the Brazilian coast, Sergipe concentrates in it’s little less than 22 thousand square km a landscape and cultural diversity that impress visitors, converting itself into an opportunity, an ideal place for travel business.

There are more than 163km beaches, without natural obstacles, warm water surrounded by dunes and cut by six river mouths, which generates an excellent option for leisure travel.

Aracaju, a port of entry to get to know Sergipe, has shown a vocation for events tourism, relying on a center of conventions and auditoriums. Its beautiful beaches and modern Atalaia coast, one of he city’s main postcards, is 6km long and is at 9km from the city center, being one of the most beautiful and equipped coasts of Brazil, fully prepared for tourism, leisure and entertainment. It has special lighting for night baths, multisports blocks and a complex of bars and restaurants. It is one of the main concentration points of the night of Sergipe.

New hotels and resorts are being built, competing to strengthen the potential in this segment. A planned city, endowed with an airport with capacity to receive international charter flights is also a center of services and leisure.

The northern coast stands out for its ecotourism. It contains one of the first bases of the Tamar Project (preservation of marine tortoises) and the Biological Reserve of Santa Isabel, but the northeast region of Pantanal also deserves emphasis and, culminating all the beauties is the mouth of the São Francisco River.

One of the greatest attractions of Sergipe is the region of Xingó, which has the 5th largest navigable canyon in the world, archaeological sites and places where outlaws walked, fought and dies, including Lampiao and Maria Bonita (two important figures of Brazilian history). The Caatinga (stunted spare forest region in Brazil’s northeast), the canyon, the Grotto of Angico, scenario of Lampiao’s last combat, are an invitation to adventure, history and entertainment.

The first tourist-real estate complexes begin to be built in Sergipe, especially directed to the second residence of foreigners.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

State of Pernambuco: Investment Opportunities

State of Pernambuco: Investment Opportunities

State of Pernambuco: Investment Opportunities

• Project: Road Access and Bridge to Paiva Beach
  
• Institution in Charge: Secretariat of Planning of the State of Pernambuco
  
• Value of Investment: 1 billion dollars
  
• Location: South Coast (Santo Agostinho Cape) - Pernambuco
  

The structuring of Paiva Beach as an international destination for tourism and leisure is a initiative of Odebrecht Building Company and of Cornelio Brennand and Ricardo Brennand Groups in partnership with the Government of Pernambuco. The planned urban infrastructure has the objective of attracting high level international tourism, as well as of expanding the supply of housing units and of leisure and service facilities to the population of the Metropolitan Area of Recife.

The Government of Pernambuco considers the Paiva Beach Project as very relevant for the State, due to its capacity to stimulate complementary investments, to create employment, income and tax revenues, generated by economic activities to be developed in the area. Also due to the expressive social impact that education, professional and technical training of the population will be able to induce, and which will consequently result in the increase of the IDH in the surrounding area.

The Project, as a whole, will require a private investment of around 1 billion dollars, and will be implemented in two stages, the first of which will demand an investment of US$ 250 million.

The Paiva Beach Project will constitute an important pole of metropolitan economic development which is expected to create very important and significant impacts such as:

• a) the generation of an average of 4,440 jobs per year, considering both direct and indirect jobs, along the 20 years of the project implementation, mainly concentrated on building activities. With regard to tourism, leisure, commerce and services activities, the Paiva Beach Project has the capacity of generating approximately 38 thousand jobs, both direct and indirect, until its completion;
  
• b) the attraction of high income level tourists flows (leisure, business and residential tourism) to Pernambuco, by offering an international pattern of infrastructure, not yet available in Northeast Brazil;
  
• c) greater attention to preservation and sustainable use of the environment, deriving from the urbanistic conception of the Project, which takes advantage of the diversity of existing landscapes (mangroves, beaches and woods) in a responsible way. The rates of use and occupation of land indicated in the project promote the preservation of more vulnerable areas, avoiding their degradation.
  

Among the several government actions to support the Paiva Beach Project, two were elected as priority actions to be accomplished by means of Public Private Partnerships, through Sponsored Concession: (1) Construction, Operation and Maintenance of the bridge giving access to Paiva Beach and (2) Implementation and Maintenance of the Paiva Beach Road System.

• Project: Pontal Project
  
• Institution in Charge: Secretariat of Economic Development of the State of
  
• Pernambuco
  
• Value of Investment: US$ 63.5 million
  
• Location: Petrolina / Pernambuco
  

The irrigation project of Pontal is located in the municipality of Petrolina, in the semi-arid region of Pernambuco, where the biggest irrigation pole of the country is. The Brazilian Government has invested approximately 70 million dollars to build part of the irrigation infrastructure, which stretches from the São Francisco River to the Pontal area, and has the intention of transferring this area to the private sector.

The Project is divided in two areas: South Pontal and North Pontal, with only one point of water capture in the São Francisco River. The engineering works already completed in Pontal (around US$ 146.00 million in nominal values) include the water capture infrastructure and the water conduction system to both North and South areas. Calculated at market prices, the private sector will need US$ 63.56 million to complete the common infrastructure to all the Pontal Project.

The State Government will be responsible for the exploitation of the irrigation public service, by means of the operation and maintenance of the infrastructure for common use, in order to guarantee the occupation and development of the irrigable areas of the Project, according to the rational use of soil resources.

The objective of Private Sector participation in the Pontal Project is to attract a company, or a companys consortium, with enough financial capacity to achieve the Projects goals, and capable of attracting, to the region, other enterprises with expertise in agricultural activities.

Company for the Development of the São Francisco Valley (CODEVASF), through several studies, has concluded that 7,716 hectares of the Pontal area are considered irrigable, due to their soil characteristics. This area is adequate for several cultures including tropical fruits, citric fruits and sugar cane, among others. The State Government is ready to give the Private Sector total freedom in the choice of products to be cultivated. The remaining 19,239 hectares of Pontal were considered as dry land, which can be used by the local population to develop traditional activities such as goat raising, or even the structuring of agricultural products processing units.

To guarantee the compatibility of financial interests of the private sector with Government objectives, regarding land occupation, the companies will receive the counterpart from the Government, only after proving the use of irrigable lands for agricultural activities. Also, the land will only be considered occupied when the commitment of the enterprise with the development of agricultural production can be proved.

____________________________________________

Older Post:

Embassy: United States of America