The project TASA – Ancestral Techniques, Current Solutions ventured into new territories in the Algarve, welcomed more artisans and even discovered a technique «that will be unique in the Algarve and, perhaps, in the country».
16 artisans from Alcoutim, Loulé and Silves have spent the last few months working with designers Alexandra Gonçalves and Ana Rita Aguiar and have created 12 new handcrafted products to add to this project's catalogue. These products will be presented on the 22nd of September, Thursday, at 18 pm, at the Clube Atlético facilities, in the historic center of Loulé.
Those responsible for TASA, a project that unites the ancient knowledge of the Algarve with the needs and tastes of the current world, challenged the region's municipalities to carry out a joint survey and inventory of artisans and knowledge existing in their territories, a challenge that was accepted by Alcoutim and Silves.
«The proposal we made was for the Chambers to give some support to the revitalization of traditional arts. Alcoutim and Silves gave us financial support to understand what exists in the territory. In Alcoutim, we carried out an exhaustive survey and found artisans who were not even listed», according to João Ministro, the head of the ProActiveTur company, which is managing this project for the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission.
Among the many guardians of ancient and almost disused techniques, they found a craftswoman who uses a very original straw-working technique.
«We found a technique, the straw, in Fernandilho, a village in Alcoutim, which only this artisan, Dona Rita, works. She learned from her uncle, but she can't explain very well how this technique appeared or justify it here in the Algarve. But the jobs that can be done are very interesting. It somewhat resembles what they call vegetable gold, with grass, worked in Africa and Brazil. It is a great innovation that we have here», according to Sara Fernandes, responsible for marketing at TASA.
Dona Rita Marta is one of the five Alcoutim artisans who became linked to TASA, following this work, and the technique she masters is present in one of the products that will be presented, a ceramic fruit bowl and straw, «a total novelty on the market'.
But it was not the only one, as Alcoutim contributed with five artisans, all of them newcomers to TASA. In Silves, there were four new “acquisitions” of the project, but five were the artisans involved, since one of them was already part of the team. These were joined by holders of ancestral knowledge from Loulé and Castro Marim, who previously worked with ProActiveTur (see full list below).
In this new phase of product launches, the focus was on «products related to the home and kitchen», what people are most looking for, and an attempt was made to combine materials in a way that had never been tried before. “We made some mixtures of materials that we hadn't tried until now. We are working with earthenware instead of just red clay. And we have a very special product, a grinder with sandstone from Silves», said Sara Fernandes.
«Some of the new products complement others that already existed. Others are brand new. For example, we have pieces of small real estate, namely a bank, which was something we hadn't bet on yet», exemplified the responsible for marketing at TASA.
TASA already has 15 retail outlets across the country, in addition to its store in the Historic Center of Loulé, and is also already exporting products to other countries, namely retail spaces in Europe, but also in Japan and the United States of America. “In these international partnerships, we work a lot with special orders [made-to-measure products], to which we have been able to respond, but with some difficulty, due to the shortage of artisans”, according to Sara Fernandes.
Hence, the next phase of TASA, which is already being devised by the CCDR of the Algarve, in partnership with the regional authorities, the IEFP and the Regional Directorate of Culture, will focus intensely on education and on the transfer of this knowledge to the younger generations.
«One of the things that became evident after this work, and that we already knew, is that the arts are all disappearing. In Alcoutim, we got to talk to people who were shoemakers, albardeiros, tinsmiths and blacksmiths, but there is almost no one in activity anymore. In Pereiro, there is even a Blacksmith Museum, but there are no more blacksmiths. In Martim Longo, there is a fully equipped pottery, closed for seven years», illustrated João Ministro.
“Our work has a lot to do with this aspect of revitalizing the arts, we are not limited to making products. This is one of the components, but we want to find a way to work with these artisans so that the arts do not disappear, because, in fact, we are on the threshold», warned the person responsible for ProActiveTur.
Full list of artisans:
New to TASA
Rita Marta/ artisan from Straw/ Alcoutim
Isabel Ferreira/ Ceramics/ Alcoutim
Maria Teixeira/ Loom/ Alcoutim
Maria Celeste / Loom / Alcoutim
Jorge Romeira/ Sugarcane Basketry/ Alcoutim
José Teresa /Madeira/ Silves
Lília Lopes/ Ceramics/ Silves
Noemia Martins / Tear / Silves
João Cabrita / Pedra / Silves
Who were already at TASA
Ana Silva / Cana / Silves
António Gomes/ Basketry Cane/ Castro Marim
Francisco Eugénio/ Pottery/ Loulé
Cremilde Lourenço / Empreita / Loulé
Fernando Henriques / Madeira / Loulé
Pedro Piedade/ Pottery/ Loulé
Tower / Madeira / Loulé
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