What is Handicraft?
Understanding the world of handicrafts extends beyond simply observing decorative, utilitarian, or ceremonial items, mostly made using traditional techniques and ancestral materials.
It is about stirring emotions upon admiring these works of art made by artisans, carrying with us a part of their essence, soul, and history. These are the stories and traditions passed down from their ancestors, which, with their skill and imagination, they embody in each of their creations.
It is the fortune of holding in our hands a piece laden with history, identity, and symbols of a worldview that shows us different ways of seeing the world, forming the essence of our living heritage.
To approach the understanding of what a handicraft is, we align with the definition of FONART, the National Fund for the Promotion of Handicrafts, a governmental institution in Mexico that promotes the country's artisanal activity:
“A handicraft is a community cultural identity object or product, made by continuous manual processes aided by rudimentary implements and some of mechanical function that lighten certain tasks. The basic raw material transformed is generally obtained in the region where the artisan lives. The mastery of traditional community heritage techniques allows the artisan to create different objects of varied quality and mastery, also imprinting symbolic and ideological values of the local culture.
Handicraft is created as a durable or ephemeral product, and its original function is determined at the social and cultural level; in this sense, it can be intended for domestic, ceremonial, ornamental, clothing use, or as a work implement." (Antrop. Marta Turok Antrop. Luz Elena Arroyo, Antrop. Arturo Gómez, Arq. Nelly Hernández y Arq. René Carrillo).”- (FONART, 2009).
In Mexico, we have a wide variety of handicrafts that are the product of the natural and cultural richness of our country and that form part of the heritage that made our ancestors great. Therefore, from Fundación Causa Azul A.C., we work to recover, preserve, and disseminate the social, cultural, and historical processes that today allow us to understand what lies behind a handicraft.
