Débora Rubin*
debora.rubin@anba.com.br
São Paulo – The hands that interweave the wool produce scarves, mantles, carpets. The hands that work the fibre make baskets, vases and trays. Together, they give life to cooperative Mão Gaúcha (Portuguese for "Hand from Rio Grande do Sul"), which currently brings together 132 artisans from all regions of the southernmost Brazilian state. Each has its own specialty. "The idea is to reunite the best craftwork in the state using old, traditional techniques, but with new materials, new ideas," says Brunhild Fristsch, vice-president at the cooperative. Besides wool and fibre, Mão Gaúcha offers products in ceramics, leather, and semi-jewels made with silver and stones abundant in the region, such as the amethyst.
The group has its roots in a cooperative of craftsmen established in the 1980s, which focused on work with wool. In 1989, it grew and became the Cooperative of Craftsmen from Rio Grande do Sul (Cooparigs). During the 1990s, as the cold gave way to milder weather in the region, the demand for wool products saw a steep decline. The solution was to diversify. Cooparigs sought assistance from the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), to take capacitation courses and to establish itself as a brand. New craftsmen, who worked with alternative products to wool, joined the group. In 1998, the Mão Gaúcha brand was created. "After the brand was established, we acquired an unique identity. It became much easier to sell our products," Brunhild claims.
Presently, the main customers are the Tok Stok store chain, the Pão de Açúcar group, and some decoration stores in the southeastern Brazilian city of São Paulo. "In Rio Grande do Sul, the brand could enjoy a much wider recognition than it does," according to the vice-president. The brand also had two stores in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, both of which closed recently because they were not self-sustaining. "Currently, we only make direct sales."
Foreign market
Exports are already part of the history of the cooperative. In the 1980s, when the focus was still on wool, some pieces were sold to the United States. Soon after the Mão Gaúcha brand was launched, in the late 1990s, an Italian from the city of Bolzano discovered the work of the craftsmen and became the main buyer. He even put together a showroom of pieces by Mão Gaúcha in Milan. Last year, though, he established his own production group and, in addition to not buying from the cooperative anymore, he took with him a large share of the craftswomen in the textile hub – which was the main segment at Mão Gaúcha.
"It came as a shock," Brunhild says. "But that is in the past. Now we must seek new export channels and invest in basket-making, for which there is a huge demand." Currently, the brand makes isolated sales to stores that commercialise "Third World articles" in Luxemburg and Germany.
The earnings of artisans affiliated to the cooperative vary according to their output. An artisan often represents an entire family that makes craftwork. It is estimated that more than 400 people are working on the products. The cooperative is comprised of 35 production hubs in the state. Since 2002, the work of Mão Gaúcha bears the stamp of Unesco, which recognizes it as a social project.
Brunhild says it is becoming increasingly difficult to commercialise craftwork, given the supply available. "It became a trend and an occupation for the unemployed and the elderly," she claims. For that reason, she explains, the group always keeps an eye out for improvements, combinations of old and new techniques, and different materials. One example: Mão Gaúcha makes baskets using remains of leather discarded by the shoe industry in the state. The leather is interlaced with fibre, making the piece even more resistant. "It is an ecologically correct piece, because we use what was discarded before, and it is also unique. As far as I know, this is only done here in Rio Grande do Sul," says Brunhild.
Mão Gaúcha
(+55 51) 3374-3382
www.maogaucha.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
