Book "The last Craftspeople of the Paiva Valley"

The book "The last Craftspeople of the Paiva Valley" features trades that still exist along the River Paiva's Valley and are at risk of disappearing.

The book "The last Craftspeople of the Paiva Valley" features trades that still exist along the River Paiva's Valley and are at risk of disappearing.

The S.O.S Rio Paiva Association, throughout regular contact with the local populations has noted the existence of tradesmen with crafts that are forgotten or have no continuity. Keeping in mind that these will eventually disappear if nothing is done in the short run, we have decided to go ahead with the idea of recording the still remaining trades and get to know who still practices them. By doing so, we hope to find ways of raising awareness to these activities, not only to preserve them, but also to have their value duly recognized and their place in contemporary society re-found.

In spite of having the support of several entities, the amount that we have at our disposal is still not enough to publish the book.

We are a small team that is working hard and tirelessly so that the book can be published in the spring of 2014. For that to happen, we are counting on the help of everyone that in some way identifies himself with this project and thus wants to collaborate with us so that this book can become a reality. All we ask of you is that you contribute, choosing the reward that better suits your financial stance and that you spread the project to your friends and aquaintances.

The rewards are varied, but we highlight that you can pre-buy the book at a lower price before its publishing, and/or works made by the craftspeople.

The BOOK

This book represents a two year long work, during which we recorded more than 50 craftspeople, that represent more than 20 different trades, some of which are the last representatives of rare arts.

With about 200 pages bound by hard-cover, this book will be thoroughly illustrated with photographs and texts that show ways of working, tell life stories and speak of a different reality than the one we are used to in the urban setting. During the months we spent with Paiva Valley's people, we got to know different ways of life that made us aware of other realities, profoundly different from the ones we find in the cities. Inspired by these people, we will try to put on paper everything we learnt from this contact. Therefore our approach is not to create a technical book, where techniques inherent to the trades are described, although we don't ignore techniques as varied as spinning wool, basket weaving, metal seasoning or clog-making.

(Mini-model book)

In this book we focus more on Why things are done and the motivation behind these works, that contrasts with the massified products we are used to, placing them closer to what we call art than what is commonly known as craft. Think again if you expect to see trinkets, miniatures or some kind of picturesque souvenirs that you can fit on your hand luggage. We are talking about people who have dedicated their life to an art, in order to create pieces that are unique and cannot be reproduced in an age of mechanical reproduction

About the author

The S.O.S. Rio Paiva Association is made up of concerned citizens that work on defending and preserving the Paiva Valley, classified as a Site  of Community Importance of the Natura 2000 network.

It defends the promotion of an Harmonious and sustainable relation between Man and the Paiva river, respecting the natural and cultural richness of this great Valley where you can find several endangered species, some of which protected by international conventions.

The Team

João Rodrigues works in cinema since 2004. His graduation short “Black & White” was programmed in dozens of film festivals from India to Cuba. At the moment he is finishing his fourth short, titled “Fortunato – From here to S. Torcato”, a rural epic set between Douro and Minho. He decided to dedicate two years of his life to this project because he believes that the definitions of traditional craft in art theory need rewriting. In this book he is responsible for the Photography and text.

Helena Caetano taught Music in public schools for eight years. Born in Castelo de Paiva, she now works full-time on this book. She decided to develop this project in recognition to the people who dedicate their lives to a craft.  She is responsible for production and text writing.

 Nuno Reigoto works as a graphic designer and illustrator. He has worked on several projects with the V. N. Gaia City Hall, where he is responsible for the cultural agenda, catalogues and exhibits like Jazz'n'Blues. He is responsible for the design of this Book.

Budget and due dates

Images

Documents

• Excerto do livro

  pdf • 11.62 MB

• Descrição do orçamento.doc

  msword • 30.5 KB