Organização do trabalho artesanal: examinando aspectos de inovação e visibilidade do artesanato no Cariri cearense

Abstract

This article examines aspects of the work organization in Cariri’s handicraft and it seeks to characterize the artisan profiles considering simultaneously the level of visibility and innovation that the handicraft reaches. Such informations were collected from 230 artisans from Cariri/ Ceará/ Brazil. The results indicate the low level of education of these workers. The average timespan of their artesanal activity is 22.18 years. The artisans use their own home as the main workplace. Regarding the income, we observed that 53.5% of the sample earn less than the minimum wage with the craftsmanship. Despite the economic difficulties faced, the handicraft is still the only productive activity performed by most of the workers. About the visibility and innovation level achieved by the sample, the results indicated that 69.6% achieved low scores for innovation and visibility (this group is called traditional non-recognized craftsmen). The second group (23,5%) showed low scores in innovation, but high scores in visibility (they´re called traditional recognized craftsmen), followed by craftsmen group who obtained high scores in innovation and visibility (they´re called cultural reference- recognized craftsmen) and, finally, the profile with fewer artisans is the group (1,7%) with high scores in innovation and low scores in visibility (they're called cultural reference, non-recognized craftsman).