The project ”Raízes Pedagógicas” (Pedagogical Roots) is a project of the Crafts and Design Center of the Azores (CADA) whose primary goal is to value and promote the most typical and representative artisanal areas of the Azores with the younger generation.

It’s a series of teaching materials and various thematic actions that intends to drive in different contexts and on several islands. Always involves students and artisans in an intergenerational coexistence that promotes unity by history, tradition and common experiences.

The project emerged from the need to perpetuate the popular culture near children and young people growing up today, more and more distant from this context. There is now a growing generation gap, which has weakened the transmission of knowledge, in this case, the know-how.

Thus, the activities of this project intend to demonstrate, experiment and recreate these cultural contents that belong to society and are the identity of the regional heritage.

KIT RAÍZES 2023

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The Regional Government promotes the 1st Handicrafts Festival for Children of the Azores – Raízes

The Vice-Presidency of the Government, through the Regional Center for Handicrafts (CRAA) promoted, from May 3 to 5, in Ponta Delgada, the 1st Handicrafts Festival for Children of the Azores – Raízes.

This pioneering initiative, which was born from the Azorean Handicrafts Pedagogical Project – Raízes, aims to sensitize the younger audience to the importance of know-how, with CRAA intending to make known both traditional techniques and raw materials as well as creative and innovative experimentation of new ways of doing it, so that young people also promote the traditions and cultural heritage of their community.

In this first edition, the program of the festival, besides the commercial part, included workshops, commented music shows and puppet theater, with performances by Rafael Carvalho and the groups Teatro Historioscopio, Teatro Marionetas and Associação Alma d’Arame.

The festival had also an outdoor area where the younger ones will have at their disposal toys, traditional games and healthy snacks.

Regional Center for Handicrafts and Antero de Quental School partners in the Project Raízes

The Regional Center for Handicrafts (CRAA) and the Antero de Quental School in Ponta Delgada, have established a partnership within the Handicrafts of the Azores Pedagogical Project – Raízes, created with the goal of enhancing Azorean popular culture among children and young people.

In this sense, CRAA provides space and equipment in its premises for the realization of ateliers proposed by the professors of the Department of Visual Arts of that teaching establishment.

The Regional Center for Handicrafts also assures the timely collaboration of artisans who master more specific techniques or crafts, promoting, through intergenerational coexistence, the transmission of knowledge to the young.

The students will also have the opportunity to present to the public the resulting works from these workshops through two exhibitions, one at the Azores in a Box and one at the Antero de Quental School.

CRAA promotes several workshops in the island of Flores under the project Raízes

The Regional Center for Handicraft promoted during the year 2017 several workshops under the pedagogical project Raízes at Flores BS School.

The Regional Center for Handicrafts, under the Pedagogical project “Raízes” promoted corn leaf workshops on the island of Corvo

The Regional Center for Handicrafts, under the Pedagogical project “Raízes” promoted corn leaf workshops at the Mouzinho da Silveira Elementary and Secondary School, involving all students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle. About 48 students participated in the elaboration of corn leaf dolls oriented by the renowned Pico artisan, Conceição Neves. These workshops emphasized the importance of maintaining traditions and cultural identity through handicrafts, the value of know-how and environmental awareness, especially regarding the profitability of the natural resources on each island.

The Regional Center for Handicrafts promoted an Embroidery Workshop at the Museum of Graciosa under the project Raízes

CRAA, in collaboration with the Museum  of Graciosa, promoted a pedagogical action under the theme of Embroidery. The activity consisted of a guided tour of the exhibition and a theoretical-practical workshop.

This workshop aimed to promote Azorean handicrafts, transmit a cultural heritage, raise awareness of the importance of appreciation and continuity of handicrafts, make known the local raw material, enhance the ecological and sustainable aspect of handicraft work, enhance knowledge to do in a playful way, full with discoveries and creations and to cooperate in the development of a greater connection between the Museum, the school institutions of the county and the community in general.

The activity took place in October 2016, at the facilities of the Museum of Graciosa with the collaboration of artisan Sandra Sousa, where a class from 6th grade, from Graciosa BI School participated.

REGIONAL CENTRE FOR HANDICRAFT PROMOTES THE PROJECT “RAÍZES” IN THE ISLAND OF SÃO JORGE

The Regional Centre for Handicraft (CRAA), dependent body of the Vice-Presidency of the Government of the Azores, is promoting, till Saturday, in the island of São Jorge, various educational activities related to weaving.

These activities are part of the initiative “Raízes – Projetos Pedagógicos para o Artesanato dos Açores”, that CRAA develops to sensitize students and the scholarship community to the handicraft as an intangible cultural heritage and as an identity of the Azores.

This action that is taking place in São Jorge is a partnership with the Museum Carlos Machado and with the participation of schools of the 1st cycle and Secondary cycle, Handicraft Cooperatives of Senhora da Encarnação and from Fajã dos Vimes and the Museum Francisco Lacerda.

Among the various activities included in this initiative, we highlight the guided tours to the temporary exhibition of costumes, reflected in the Museum Francisco Lacerda, a demonstration of weaving techniques by local artisans and the participation by the spectators, in a perspective that aims to combine the traditional with the artistic.

Also a reference to a workshop in the Handicraft Cooperative Senhora da Encarnação, in Ribeira do Nabo, directed to students of the Tourism Degree from the Professional School but also open to the community.

Preceding this initiative, CRAA held a preparatory training for teachers, in order to grasp some technical and conceptual possibilities of structuring the handmade loom, making it an artistic and contemporary object.

With this set of actions, the Regional Centre for Handicraft has aimed at the enhancement and promotion of traditional weaving techniques in a perspective of continuity and exploration of new creative hypotheses, conveying to young cultural heritage and the art of the know-how.

THE REGIONAL CENTRE FOR HANDICRAFTS PROMOTES THE PROJECT “RAÍZES” IN THE ISLAND OF PICO

The Regional Centre for Handicrafts (CRAA) is promoting, until the end of this week, at the Whaling Industry Museum in São Roque do Pico, various activities under the project “Raízes”.

This action counts with the realization of educational workshops and guided tours of the handicraft exhibition by Alzira and Conceição Neves, founders of the Regional Handicrafts School of Santo Amaro, in the island of Pico.

The two artisans were recently awarded with the “CoMtradição” Award, which aims to distinguish, spread and promote the exemplary performance of entities and artisans.

The activities that are being developed involve students from the 2nd and 3rd cycles, in order to raise awareness of the importance of cultural heritage which is craftsmanship and alert to the need to, not only preserve it but also transmit it to future generations.