Without public policies, Brazilian artisan pays to exhibit work, earns less than the minimum and has no pension

Difficulty buying material, exhibiting your work and selling it under fair conditions are some of the difficulties faced by Brazilian handicrafts identified by a diagnosis recently released by UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais).

Made by UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) at the request of the Ministry of Economy, during the Bolsonaro government, the document also pointed out that the craftsman is in a vulnerable situation, since a significant portion receives less than a minimum wage and has no social security protection.

The approximately 500-page document, born through the PAB (Brazilian Crafts Program), contains analysis with suggestions and solutions for emergency problems, according to Mariana Pompermayer, professor at the School of Fine Arts at UFMG, who is part of the general coordination of the project.

“There is a lot of regional difference. Considering the size of the country, thinking about a single public policy is complicated. So we need to go deeper to understand that.”

The first stage was completed in December 2022 and indicates that public policies for the sector, which moves around 8.5 million people in the country, are practically non-existent. Discussions for adjustments in the sector are old and have been even more emptied in recent years, according to Isabel Gonçalves, counselor of the National Confederation of Artisan Workers in Brazil.

The counselor says that federal law 13.180/2015, sanctioned by then-president Dilma Rousseff (PT), which regulated the artisan profession, created “an alignment, a project built for Brazilian crafts”.

“It was a public policy designed with presentation of the category in all states, but it did not leave the drawing board. We do not have public policies. We only have actions based on holding fairs. The program is summarized to this. We are the only artists in the country that pay to watch our show. You have to buy the space to show your production”, says Isabel.

Improving the law is one of the points highlighted in the diagnosis made by UFMG. “There is a lack of knowledge around issues in the handicraft sector, which we need to explore with managers, with artisans, to reach an understanding of how to formulate these policies in a better way”, says Mariana Pompermayer.

According to the technical area of ​​the Ministry of Economy, there are already discussions for the reformulation of the law.

The report, which had the collaboration of eight other federal and state universities, also points to a “high dependence” on state and municipal administrations to promote handicrafts.

According to the survey, Amazonas, Santa Catarina, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Ceará and the Federal District have laws aimed at the activity.

The state of São Paulo has a sub-secretariat, Sutaco (Sub-secretariat of Craft Work in the Communities). According to the Secretariat for Economic Development, there are 98,000 artisans registered in the state. The folder also says that it forms partnerships with city halls to “promote regional handicrafts and support the holding of local festivals”.

Ceramist Vanderléa Lima, 44, has been working with crafts for five years. She coordinates the Cerâmicas Baluarte association, in São Bernardo do Campo, in Greater São Paulo. According to the artisan, there are 16 families involved in the work. She points out the flow of production as a major bottleneck in the sector.

“The State Department of Development always invites us to major events, such as Mesa São Paulo, for example. We are invited to participate in these markets, but there is still no very clear policy”, he says.

The association is in a rural area, close to the Billings Dam. The pieces, such as plates, platters, bowls and cups, are inspired by the Atlantic Forest. Most of the people who work there are women.

“There is a lack of incentives to sell the goods, access large markets. There are pieces that we make that can cost R$ 300, but we don’t know when they will sell. It depends on fairs, on some events”, says Vanderléa.

“Many women prefer to clean during the day so they can have money to take home food at night.”

According to the PAB, the commercialization of the material is one of the priorities of the program. One of the suggestions made in the mapping report is the “creation of a consistent commercialization policy for the sector, which actually contributes to its sustainability”.

In addition, there is another challenge which is the lack of interest of young people.

“Young people’s access to formal education and to goods and services that their ancestors did not experience encourage them to seek other occupations, with higher pay and a less exhausting work process. As a result, the occupation of artisan is currently, on average, composed of by older people than in other occupations,” says the report.

For Isabel Gonçalves, the issue goes further. “Crafts have always been seen as a welfare issue. ‘Oh, I have nothing, I’m going to be an artisan’. That doesn’t exist. Crafts are consolidated, a cultural representation. It represents great economic importance.”

This year, two more stages are planned for UFMG’s work. One of them is to deepen the research, with regional cuts. The other is to provide extension courses to meet the demands of the sector.

According to the PAB, a stamp should also be created to identify and award the national product. There is a promise for the Sicab (Brazilian Handicraft Registration Information System) to be reformulated. Today there are 1,94,848 artisans registered.