By the hands of the people

Since the middle of the past decade, Brazilian handicrafts have been the target of a tiny revolution. With the assistance of various organizations and groups, (NGOs and other public interest associations),and the support of official organs like Apex-Brasil and Sebrae, the sector is turning into an incomegenerating tool for needy communities throughout Brazil. Lately, there has been patient work to restore traditions, improve production and techniques, bring together artisans through cooperatives and associations, and, in particular, to open new markets, especially those abroad. In the last two years alone, Apex-Brasil invested R$12 million in the promotion of Brazilian handicrafts abroad.
These projects were executed together with entities such as the Centro Cape of Minas Gerais, Siara of Ceará, Artest of Paraná, and the Instituto Fazer Brasil of São Paulo. Today, the most pressing challenge is to provide producers with a technology base that would permit them to match the dizzying pace of worldwide e-commerce. "Prompt delivery abroad is becoming a vital path for the entire sector," says Tânia Machado, president of the Centro Cape Institute, dedicated to production and business management training, and director of Mãos of Minas (Hands of Minas), a group that promotes local handicrafts in partnership with Centro Cape. "We are preparing to launch this sales model in 2009."

All this effort to "sell" the Brazilian economy abroad is paying off, as shown by the change in the profile of capital invested in Brazil. According to Nishikawa, five years ago, practically 100% of foreign investments in Brazil came from specific, Latin Americadedicated funds - which limited the amount of funds raised. Today, this percentage has fallen to 80%.

As the head of Brasil Handicraft by Minas, export arm of Mãos de Minas, Arnaldo Galvão currently sets up stands of handicrafts from the Minas region at a dozen international fairs. However, he laments the fact that even now, no association or artisan has been able to secure a place in the complete cycle of e-commerce: product displays, shopping carts, checkout and online payment. "E-commerce demands managerial capacity, knowledge and some investment to match this velocity," say Galvão.

But this situation, it seems, will change soon change. The statistics seem to back up the case for budding advancement. In recent years, in the wake of globalization, the number of Internet users has quadrupled worldwide. Global e-commerce grows robustly each year - and Brazil is no different. In 2007, e-commerce revenues totaled R $ 6.4 billion in the Brazilian market, 43% more than in 2006. According to e-commerce monitoring company e-Bit, the country will close this year with $ 10.6 billion in online sales, an increase of 28% in comparison to 2008.

Fairs

According IBGE data, handicrafts is the vocation of 8.5 million Brazilians. It is estimated that it will contribute R $30 billion to the national GDP in 2009. Of total exports, about 10% are online sales. Sites like www. brazilhandcraft.org. br strengthen the sector's sales strategy by showing consumers abroadmainly Europeans and Americans, who are more demanding in this area- that these products are not only guaranteed high quality but were also produced using sustainable practices and environmental responsibility.

Like many other handicrafts associations, José Anísio, owner of Craft Anísio of Pará, a prestigious brand of Belém marajoara ceramics in Pará, has a Website and offers online sales, but only goes as far as to offer a shopping cart. A bank deposit is required for payment and the shipping of the merchandise is slow. "Each product requires a different size package," says Anísio. His goal, however, the site is to provide the complete cycle of e-commerce. "It helps to market our products abroad," says Anísio. His objective, however, is to offer a complete e-commerce service. "The internet helps us bring our products abroad," he says. "Many foreigners come to the showroom after seeing the marajoara on the net." Already, the internet is also a crucial tool for the Association of Artisans of Father Cicero, which brings together 145 producers from Juazeiro and Cariri. The association's president, Hamurabi Bezerra Batista, has no doubt about the internet's positive impact on sales: "Our sculptures in wood and clay, and our pieces of leather, rattan and straw, and even our traditional "story on a string" poetry books became much more accessible," he said.
"Working with handicrafts, it is also necessary to provide an education about the market," says Helena Sampaio, executive coordinator of Oscip ArteSol / Artesano Solidário, created in 2002 by former First Lady of Brazil Ruth Cardoso. With projects in more than 100 communities, with the mission to promote local sustainable development, the organization obtained the Fair Trade label, a certification granted to those meeting all fair trade social and ethical obligations. Today ArteSol´s monthly billings are about R$45 million. "Each project lasts almost two years and we aim to identify local technicians legalize the group as an association or cooperative," says Helena. ArteSol intermediates sales for stores in Brazil and abroad and receives missions of foreign buyers brought to the country by Apex-Brazil. Support agency also extends to participation in major international exhibitions such as Maison & Objet in Paris and the Gift Fair in New York. The foreign market is truly promising. In 2007, the craftsmen who participated in the export projects carried out by Apex-Brazil earned US$ 3.31 million. This figure represents only a portion of industry sales, and it remains impossible have an exact picture of total volume of international trade in handicrafts. According to her, purchases made in Brazil are also excluded. "The foreign buyer does his or her shopping here, fills a container with the crafts and simply sends it to the home country," says Tania Machado.

Still, the current situation is inspiring optimism. "It's the moment for export," says Andrea Peçanha, coordinator of the sustainable business at Ipê, an NGO working with projects related to the environment that also develops alternatives to increase the income of communities in a sustainable manner. "In the domestic market, many NGOs pay a great deal in taxes to sell anything, but are exempt when exporting." Ipê sells T-shirts and handmade puppets, representing endangered species of animals and plants to stores zoos in Denmark, Ireland and Italy. It has also developed a line of organic sponges in the form of endangered species, for the Natura store in Paris.

Andrea sees an additional advantage in export. "It's a good way to get around the seasonality of the domestic market," he says. The group Lã Pura (Pure Wool), of western Rio Grande do Sul, illustrates this phenomenon. The cooperative, with 58 artisans from the cities of San Borja, Santana do Livramento and Uruguaiana, works primarily with wool, raw material which the lowest consumption in Brazil. Lã Pura has recently launched a website and is already shipping their scarves, shawls, and coats to Spain and the United States. In 2008, according to the artisan Cleni Ocampos Feldberg, the cooperative has sold 1,900 items, including clothing and accessories. "This year we should double this production," said Cleni.

A taste of Brazil

A pioneer in the international expansion of the sector, the Centro Cape of Minas works with groups of artisans in Minas Gerais, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Paraná and São Paulo and participates annually in 15 fairs abroad - seven in the U.S. and eight in Europe. "We also have a showroom in New York, where we do promotions of products three times a year," says Tania. "On these occasions, we also offer a "taste" of Brazil, with pão de queijo (cheese bread), caipirinhas, Sonho da Valsa (traditional Brazilian chocolate candy) and guaraná soda." Cape maintains a showroom in Sintra, Portugal, in partnership with a local company there.

Minas Gerais is a highlight on the national scene. A survey of Apex-Brazil shows that the state now accounts for about 60% of Brazilian exports of handicrafts. Tânia believes that this is due to strong local organization and the fact that the tax legislation of the region encourages craftsman by offering the ability to issue receipts and direct exports. Among the craftsmen participating in the fairs with the Centro Cape is Leonardo Bueno, of Maria da Fé, in the south of Minas. He works with wood from managed forests and is one of the few to have the green seal IQS (Institute for Sustainable Quality), which is essential for the export of such products. "Foreigners love this combination of design and wood offering environmentally friendly practices," he says. Leonardo sells to the United States, Europe and Australia and exports have grown to account for 70% of its production. With the crisis, he is now focusing momentarily on the domestic market.

Despite its intensity, the crisis has not affected sales of those who exhibited at fairs in January 2009 in Europe and the USA. At the Gift Fair in New York, Centro Cape recorded about US $300,000 in orders. The Association of Craft and Style of Londrina (Artest) of Paraná, closed the two European fairs --Maison & Objet in Paris and the Environment, in Frankfurt -- with a total of 100,000 in orders. "It was fantastic," says the group's coordinator, Denise Mucci. "We never had so many visitors. There is a crisis, but for some products, there is no lack of demand." Artest participate in fairs in Europe with the support of APEX-Brazil. Founded in 2004, the association works to formalize the practices of craftsmen and small enterprises, throughout this process, improve its product line. "We focus on appropriateness of products to the market, because here in the north of Paraná we had great craftsmen, but no union," says the coordinator. With decorative products made of wood (certified or recycled), their work attracted the interest of the Art Institute of Chicago. Denise considers it essential to differentiate Brazilian products, betting on quality. "In terms of price and quantity, the market is dominated by Asian countries."

It is this Asian competition that presents a challenge to Sol Fair Trade, run by Brazilian Ana Paula MacArthur. Her company has been selling Brazilian art in the U.S. since 2006, via the internet and a wholesale showroom in Seattle. She works in accordance with the rules of fair trade and choose communities with sustainable practices in addition to quality and production volume. "The problem is that Americans are accustomed to cheap and inferior products, and they still give more value to quantity and low price than quality and fair price," she says. Some of her wares are acquired directly from producers and taken to fairs and her showroom, where Ana Paula takes requests from shop owners. "We have a big challenge ahead of us," she says," to show that beyond the products themselves, we are selling the social projects that are behind them." The internet, with its unique scope and breadth, can certainly help her meet this challenge.

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