A national strategy for traditional crafts in Portugal
Developed on invitation by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture, the strategy proposes measures to safeguard and promote traditional crafts from Portugal. We suggest a fundamental change of perspective to highlight the contemporary relevance of artisanal production.
A set of measures based on 4 fundamental pillars — preservation, education, empowerment and promotion — are designed to be sensitive to the territory’s diversity and responsive to their context. The singularity of each trade is understood as the result of human permanence and identification with the natural landscape.
This program values the unique cultural heritage of this sector, understanding it as independent, creative, capable of critical reflection about the main challenges and demands of today. Due to their economic independence, their healthy relation with place and natural landscape, their preservation of knowledge and skill as well as their contribution to social wellbeing, the artisanal trades are some of the most contemporary practices of our time.
