Craftsmanship as a means of empowerment for the traditional population of Guaraqueçaba : a case study
This research is a case study of craftspeople from a traditional population that have been successful in transforming craft tradition into income-generation. These craftspeople of Caiçara culture have formed a cooperative in Guaraqueçaba, state of Paraná, southern Brazil. Caiçara is the name given to the traditional population living along Brazil south and southeast coast, of mixed Aboriginal and European descent. The natural environment of Guaraqueçaba, because of its precious and extremely high biodiversity, is one of the highest priorities for conservation in the planet. In order to protect its ecosystems, an Environmental Protection Area was created, in 1985, to regulate the use of natural resources. These regulations imposed many severe restrictions to the traditional subsistence practices and sources of income of the Caiçara communities, causing their impoverishment, a disruption in the Caiçara way of life and a great damage to their culture. This case shows the local population striving to improve their living conditions by the means of the creation of crafts for sale. The objective of this research is to understand how craft design and production allowed for their empowerment and the valorization of the local culture. The approach to data collection in the field was inspired by ethnography, using the following methods: interviews (unstructured and semi-structured), observations (participant and non-participant), and photos and physical artifacts. This case study had an exploratory nature, exploring questions related to empowerment and culture aiming to provide the scope for future research.
Guaraqueçaba craft empowerment caiçara culture sustainable development traditional population craftspeople cooperative Brazil