Tejedoras de Novo Airão: empoderamiento femenino desde la selva amazónica

Cristina Rivas / Translate by Laura Osuna

In the heart of the Amazon, the women weavers of the Novo Airão Artisans Association (AANA) for its initials in Spanish, have transformed their ancestral art into a source of resilience and economic empowerment.Using natural fibers such as arumã, a plant that grows in flooded and shaded areas, these artisans create products ranging from baskets and mats to lampshades and upholstered chairs. The use of arumã, a tradition inherited from the ethnic group Baré located on the upper course of Río Negro, have been essential in preserving both local culture and the environment.

Founded in 1996, the AANA was born after the implementation of the Fibrarte project of the Vitória Amazônica Foundation, which in 1994 try to stimulate the handicraft activity in Rio Negro. At the beginning, many of the artisans were ashamed to sell their pieces because there was a negative perception associated with their art as “Indian stuff”. However, over time the organization of the weavers and the motivation to value their Baré tradition turned the group into a space for cultural and social strengthening, transmitting ancestral knowledge from generation to generation.

The growth of the AANA has allowed the artisans to bring visitors and earn a stable income, ensuring the continuity of their traditions. This model of sustainable development not only promotes the women's economic independence but also supports the conservation of local biodiversity. .

As Wheel, the Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project, promoted by UNESCO, seeks to stop the degradation of Amazonian ecosystems, conserving biodiversity and promoting alternative livelihoods for communities and indigenous peoples. Since their beginning in 2021, the project has supported more than 42 initiatives to regenerate ecosystems and promote sustainable employment, integrating scientific knowledge with ancestral knowledge to reduce the impacts of climate change.

The story of the women weavers of Novo Airão demonstrates how the cultural preservation can be allied of economic development and the environmental conservation, working as a model for other communities in the Amazon and beyond.

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