The purpose of this paper is to present some elements which reflect a method of elaborating and implementing organizational development programs in popular agricultural production cooperatives. This text was written based on experiences and studies carried out within the organization and management of cooperatives situated in the south, southeast, and center-west of Brazil, and also within processes which instruct cooperative workers by approaching topics related to social living and interpersonal relations which interfere with organizational development. An analysis balance of the organizational situation of settlements and cooperatives which are the object of intervention is presented. The concept of organizational development as socialization strategy for work, and the necessity for creating adequate proposals for popular cooperative organizations are discussed. Some guidelines for implementing organizational development programs shaped both by the solution of imediate economic necessities and by the preservation of human values and natural resources, suggesting the use of a method which can rescue important elements from the cooperative workers' symbolic universe are outlined.
cooperation; popular cooperative; land reform settlement; organizational development; organizational culture