News & Events
BIOTRAILS Workshop in Rondonia, Brazil: Insights from the Indigenous Women Handicraft Artisans Value Chain
Following two previous Indigenous handicraft workshops with stakeholders representing non-government organisations and the public and private sectors in 2023 and 2024, on October 3rd and 4th, the BIOTRAILs project successfully completed a third workshop almost exclusively with Indigenous women artisans. The workshop took place near the women’s community territories in the city of Ji-Paraná in the state of Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon. The two-day event was organized by the BIOTRAILs consortium of partners in collaboration with local partners from Greendata and Forest Trends.
The overall objective of the on-site workshop was to gain insights into the perceived nexus between biodiversity, climate change, and social dimensions from the perspective of the Indigenous women producers themselves. The two-day meeting provided a unique opportunity to discuss Indigenous women’s challenges and explore “low-hanging fruit” and inclusive solutions to improve their well-being and forest conservation efforts while strengthening their socio-biodiversity handcraft artisanal value chain from production to commercialization.
The high level of engagement of the indigenous women participants and their insightful contributions were part of the success of the workshop. The workshop brought together talented indigenous artisans from the Roosevelt (Cinta Larga People), Sete de Setembro (Paiter Suruí People) and Igarapé Lourdes Territories (Arara People), as well as the representative of the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation´s (FUNAI) Leandro Manga Arara, Regional Coordinator for Ji Parana, attended the second day.
Insights provided by participants emphasised the vital connections between biodiversity as an economic source of indigenous peoples and their role as stewards of nature. The nexus mapping exercise assessed the connections among Biodiversity, Climate and Society (BCS) elements according to the women artisans’ perceptions and knowledge. The participants, who were organised into groups by territory, were asked to use cards to identify and place in a a Rondonia State map, the main causes that lead to biodiversity loss, including climate change impacts, and which in turn result in social and environmental effects in their territories.
Workshop participants identified the significance of biodiversity in sustaining the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples and some of the main threats jeopardising their capability to sustain and scale forest-based cultural value chains. One of the main threats is the increased duration of the dry season and fires, which have been destroying important areas for raw material collection and reducing air quality.
“Surrounding our territory there are only farms, so the river dries up faster and are polluted from the use of pesticides. Where there is forest cover however, water still can still be found as puddles and the soil does not dry up as quickly. If the farmers at minimum reforested the edge of the rivers, that would improve the drought problems we are experiencing” Lana Suruí – Leader fro Paiter Suruí People.
Indeed the cumulative environmental degradation experienced over time in their territories, either by the loss of forest due to land grabbing and the effects of climate change such as droughts and fires, results in a reduction and scarcity of raw materials for crafts. The indigenous handcraft women are very aware of the importance of preserving and valuing their culture and territory, which the promote and conserve through their art as a powerful expression of identity, traditional knowledge and income generation.
Through the workshop, we also learned how in addition to the biophysical issues affecting the communities and their livelihood, socioeconomic difficulties also play a large role. All of the indigenous women agreed on the difficulties in marketing and selling their handicraft products. There are logistical issues reaching adequate markets, which are related to the lack of formalisation of the value chain, as well as issues communicating the value of their craft, as customers and retailers often demand low prices for their work. Some of the handcraft pieces have production processes that take several days and meticulous work, which is frequently not recognised or included in the retail price of the products.
The indigenous artisan women know they need support. They suggest that the biophysical and socioeconomic difficulties they are experiencing could be addressed with programs, initiatives and policies that could improve their entrepreneurship capacities and access to financial services to improve production and aid in commercialisation. The workshop provided a friendly space to discuss and increase our mutual understanding about the current situation among indigenous peoples in terms of their livelihoods, and women-led handicraft value chains in the Brazilian Amazon. Their rich experiences facilitated a fruitful and dynamic exchange of ideas and valuable insight on how the value chain impacts and is impacted by biodiversity loss, climate change and social issues.