Rural social innovation in practices of solidarity economy in the Cooptar collective in Southern Brazil/Inovacao social rural em praticas de economia solidaria no coletivo Cooptar no Sul do Brasil/Innovacion social rural en practicas de economia solidaria en el colectivo Cooptar en el sur de Brasil

Disputes over land and the struggle for the right to work and dignified life for rural workers have been going on for a long time in Brazil. They are currently reconfigured based on new forms of exclusion that characterize the "new rural." Rural social innovation (RSI) comprises a broad process of social change, capable of contributing to dealing with challenges and, providing opportunities for social inclusion and overcoming inequalities. This article aimed to understand the transforming potential of the RSI developed at the Cooperativa de Producao Agropecuaria Cascata Ltda. (Cooptar), a Collective resulting from one of the agrarian settlements formed from the occupation of the Annoni Farm in Rio Grande do Sul by the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). Methodologically, the case study was based on documental research, observation, 24 semi-structured interviews with cooperative families and external technicians, and content analysis. The findings showed that, through processes of ongoing training and protagonism of the members of the collective, Cooptar exists and has been self-renewing for 33 years in its interpersonal and family relationships (confronting individualism and gender inequality), practices of solidarity economy (collective ownership and self-management) and diversification in production processes, constituting a true culture of transformative and solidary social innovation. Keywords: Rural social innovation. Innovation culture. Agricultural cooperation. Organizational practices. Agrarian settlement. As disputas pela terra e a luta pelo direito ao trabalho e a vida digna de trabalhadores rurais vem de longa data no Brasil, reconfiguradas na atualidade pelas formas renovadas de exclusao que caracterizam o "novo rural". A inovacao social rural (ISR) compoe um processo amplo de mudancas sociais, capaz de contribuir para o enfrentamento de desafios e simultaneamente promover inclusao social e superacao de desigualdades. Este artigo visa compreender o potencial transformador das ISRs desenvolvidas na Cooperativa de Producao Agropecuaria Cascata Ltda. (Cooptar), um coletivo decorrente de um dos assentamentos agrarios formados na ocupacao da Fazenda Annoni, no Rio Grande do Sul, pelo Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST). O estudo de caso se valeu de pesquisa documental, observacao, 24 entrevistas semiestruturadas com as familias cooperativadas e com tecnicos externos, bem como de analise de conteudo. Os achados evidenciaram que, med