Public policies supporting gastronomic, handicraft, and tourism enterprises in the Irapé Circuit

The Irapé Lake Tourist Circuit is located in the North of Minas Gerais and the Jequitinhonha Valley, encompassing sixteen cities. This study focuses on the cities of Grão Mogol and Botumirim, aiming to develop public policy proposals that support creative economy enterprises, including gastronomy, handicrafts, and tourism. Action research was chosen, in which researchers and the community collaborated in planning, action, and reflection to develop propositions that addressed everyday, practical problems. Thirty-seven entrepreneurs were interviewed using a semi-structured script, focusing on understanding the enterprises’ vulnerabilities and the strategies adopted to overcome them. Subsequently, creative economic entrepreneurs were gathered to conduct a cooperative inquiry, proposing specific public policies to meet local needs and build long-term, sustainable social and economic development. In the cooperative inquiry, five categories of public policies were proposed: training of entrepreneurs (social media management, project development, English, and courses in the areas of gastronomy and tourism); creation of a support center for culture and tourists; promotion of cooperation between entrepreneurs, city residents, and local public institutions; assisted credit; and creation of a local identity that recognizes entrepreneurs as agents of transformation and values culture. Additionally, the proposition of public policies conceived by local entrepreneurs, based on the vulnerabilities faced in daily life, makes these propositions assertive regarding their transformative capacity.