Training in handicrafts responds to market needs while contributing to the qualification of a new generation of artisans and providing them with technical and scientific knowledge combined with traditional knowledge. The training is a bet on the revitalization of the traditional crafts characteristic of each island and the recreation of more contemporary products, through the project Hora do Ofício, the workshops of the Azores Craftlab – Azores Handicraft Incubator and the Creative Residences.
CADA develops a diversified annual activity plan based on the pursuit of the following objectives: to value the handicrafts of the Azores, to promote the commercialization and promotion of the handicrafts of excellence that are made in the region and to awaken children and young people to arts and crafts, with the clear objective of ensuring their sustainability. In this sense, it promotes and organizes several markets within the Açores Artesanal and MUA – Urban Market of Handicrafts, Prenda – Handicrafts Festival of the Azores and Raízes – Pedagogical Project of the Azorean Handicrafts.
Artisan is the worker who carries out a craft activity, on his own or on behalf of others, inserted in a recognized handicraft production unit, which requires mastery of the knowledge and techniques inherent to the activity in question and refined aesthetic sense and manual expertise. Recognition of the status of artisan is done by awarding a title called an “artisan certificate”.
The collective brand “Artesanato dos Açores”, a certification of origin and quality implemented in 1998, aims to contribute for the appreciation, promotion and marketing, especially in the foreign market, of products traditionally manufactured in the Region. The projection of the brand is also based on the accountability of the artisans, as the main interested in distinguishing their product in the market, obtaining a certification seal.
Our nature and mission
The Crafts and Design Center of the Azores, is an executive service of the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Professional Qualification and Employment, of wich is responsible for the implementation of regional policy in the areas of development and appreciation of traditional products, namely the regional handicrafts and artisanal production units, professional training and the coordination of multifunctional initiatives with development in the local environment.
Competences of the Crafts and Design Center of the Azores:
a) Ensure the issuance of the artisan and the artisanal production units certificate on the legal terms;
b) Specify and define the activities and professions that are considered as artisanal;
c) To clarify the processes in order of granting incentives to all crafts and the respective data inspection;
d) Proceed the collection of statistical data to enable knowledge and better definition of positive discrimination policies for the sector;
e) Develop studies and propose measures to promote regional handicrafts among interested economic agents;
f) Develop the necessary actions towards training and information of the artisans;
g) Ensure the image and quality of the artisanal product through the certification process Artesanato dos Açores;
h) Promote and inspect the productions certified by the collective brand Artesanato dos Açores and geographic indications;
i) Issue judgment on regional projects in the area of handicrafts, with an impact on economic activities;
j) Promote and stimulate regional crafts, both as a preserving element of collective memory and as a creative activity with economic potential;
k) Promote and organize fairs, exhibitions and regional, national and international fairs and coordinate the participation and the exchange of the Region in national or international networking;
l) Stimulate the creation of more competitive micro-enterprises, at quality and differentiation of some products predicated on the most relevant aspects of the cultural and natural heritage of the Region, combining innovation and tradition;
m) Develop cooperative relations with other national and international organizations, favoring the establishment of agreements and protocols that contribute to the cultural, social and economic promotion of the Region in the area of handicrafts;
n) Attribute merit mentions to the handicraft production units with consolidated and historically relevant career, whose work contributed to the preservation and expansion of the identity of the arts and crafts of the Azores;
o) Ensure the collection, organization, production and availability of knowledge about craft practices;
p) Edit publications and texts of technical and promotional interest as a strategy to value artisanal products.
q) Facilitate the access to traditional craft techniques, through formal and informal learning in conjunction with training and employment measures and the creation of partnerships with educational establishments;
r) Award study and research grants in the field of handicrafts, with a view of guaranteeing the continuity and renewal of the sector, through the specialized training of new artisans and research leading to their preservation and innovation;
s) Ensure the realization of other tasks that, within the scope of each area of competence, are assigned or entrusted, being responsible for them.