"Fundacao casa grande" and the touristic development of nova olinda/ce: new chances for the dialogue between the local cultura and tourism

This paper aims to discuss the development of tourism in Nova Olinda, a little town located in the Cariri Cearense, in northeastern Brazil. The focus of the discussion is on one of the main attractions of the city, the Casa Grande Foundation - Memorial Kariri Man. This is a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to children and youth, with actions related to local memory, culture, arts and tourism. Established in 1992, headquartered in an old house of Tapera s farm (building of the late eighteenth century), the entity has been outstanding in promoting community-based tourism in the region and the socio-cultural development of the Nova Olinda population, which has generated a significant tourist flow to the city. Alongside the achievements of NGOs, Nova Olinda also stands out for harboring two of the nine geosites open to visitors in the Araripe Geopark, the first in Latin America to be set up under the auspices of UNESCO. Remembering that to be classified as geopark is considered not only the geological wealth, but also cultural surrounding the sites. In this context, the objective proposed here is to discuss the use of tangible and intangible heritage in shaping the tourist offer of Nova Olinda and the consequences of tourism development in the local culture, which is constantly being rethought and revalued in this process. For this, interviews were conducted with people involved with the NGO and with the Geopark, and locals involved in the tourist practice, field visits, desk research at the town hall of the municipality and bibliographic research.