São Paulo – For over five generations now, they have been making various items out of piassava (a type of straw). They produce purses, carpets, placemats, wallets, hats and various accessories in the region known as Costa dos Coqueiros (Coast of the Coconut Trees), in the North Coast of the state of Bahia, a region that extends from the municipality of Lauro de Freitas to Mangue Seco. After conquering Brazil and foreign countries with their creations, the members of the Association of Artisans of Porto de Sauípe (APSA, in the Portuguese acronym) want to invest even further in foreign sales.
Based in the city of Entre Rios, 134 kilometres away from the capital Salvador, the piassava entrepreneurs have already shipped their items to Belgium, Chile, the United States, Italy and Portugal, always through the intermediation of exporting companies. According to the chairwoman of the APSA, Maria Joelma Bispo Silva, the plan is to invest more and more in training and qualification, so that in the future they may negotiate directly with foreign buyers.
To that end, the association counts on support from the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service in the state of Bahia (Sebrae-BA) and is also affiliated with the project Talentos do Brasil (Talents from Brazil), of the Ministry of Agrarian Development. It was through the program, by the way, that the artisans from Bahia have sent their work to events in Paris, France, in 2009 and 2010, for instance.
What about the Arab clients, are they interested in them? “We haven’t had access to these buyers yet, but we do intend to sell to them,” says Joelma. “We are already aware that there are Arab investors interested in Costa dos Coqueiros,” she says. “They are going to buy everything we have,” kids the artisan.
Joelma explains that piassava purses and wallets are the top-selling items. The 35 women in the association own a store in the Costa do Sauípe resort, in Bahia, and participate in trade fairs throughout the year in different Brazilian states, at which they receive orders from other stores. “We attend events and business roundtables in markets such as Ceará, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo, among others,” she claims.
According to the chairwoman of the APSA, the artisans get lots of compliments for their talent, because “all they need is to be born” in Costa dos Coqueiros to “learn the technique” and work the piassava. “It is very rewarding to see our work get recognition in Brazil and abroad," she says.
Contact
APSA
Tel.: +55 75 3475-1172
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
