Café Igaraí, an international collaboration
Summer 2008
Igaraí, SP, Brazil.
Through a serendipitous friendship formed between Silvia Barretto and my most esteemed professor Drea Howestein, Lisa Kim and I were invited to travel to Igaraí to collaborate with Café Igaraí.
Café Igaraí is a craft-based collective composed of Brazilian women ages 17-70. Café Igaraí currently brings together 13 women, most of them are ex-farm-hands or from families that work in the coffee and have picked up the skills of embroidery and crochet from their mothers. Café Igaraí brings, for these women and their families, extra income, improved self-esteem, new friends and new places to see. At the same time it fosters the recovery of traditional knowledge and craftsmanship. Every day it gives them material and emotional satisfaction as well as preserving a part of history.
Café Igaraí Timeline
2002
Silvia Barretto started an organization of women at Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza. The collective focused on embroidery and crochet as a way to generate income in addition to what the men earned working full-time agricultural jobs. In addition to earning money the organization encouraged the women to believe in themselves & the possibilities of small entrepreneurial initiatives.
2006
Membership extends beyond Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza and women from all over Igaraí participate. Internationally acclaimed designer Renato Imbroisi works with the collective to define coffee as the theme and works to form a collective identity among the women.
2008
Lisa Kim and Maia Chong are invited as guest artist to reinvigorate the collective by revamping the collective's permanent space and providing artistic support (including: introducing a new product line and directing skill-based workshops).
Igaraí, SP, Brazil.
Through a serendipitous friendship formed between Silvia Barretto and my most esteemed professor Drea Howestein, Lisa Kim and I were invited to travel to Igaraí to collaborate with Café Igaraí.
Café Igaraí is a craft-based collective composed of Brazilian women ages 17-70. Café Igaraí currently brings together 13 women, most of them are ex-farm-hands or from families that work in the coffee and have picked up the skills of embroidery and crochet from their mothers. Café Igaraí brings, for these women and their families, extra income, improved self-esteem, new friends and new places to see. At the same time it fosters the recovery of traditional knowledge and craftsmanship. Every day it gives them material and emotional satisfaction as well as preserving a part of history.
Café Igaraí Timeline
2002
Silvia Barretto started an organization of women at Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza. The collective focused on embroidery and crochet as a way to generate income in addition to what the men earned working full-time agricultural jobs. In addition to earning money the organization encouraged the women to believe in themselves & the possibilities of small entrepreneurial initiatives.
2006
Membership extends beyond Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza and women from all over Igaraí participate. Internationally acclaimed designer Renato Imbroisi works with the collective to define coffee as the theme and works to form a collective identity among the women.
2008
Lisa Kim and Maia Chong are invited as guest artist to reinvigorate the collective by revamping the collective's permanent space and providing artistic support (including: introducing a new product line and directing skill-based workshops).
