Rede Asta

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Design feito à mão

Support and Market Access for Six Artisan Women Cooperatives in Rio de Janeiro

Women in Brazil still face inequality and exclusion from the job market. Today, women represent a significant part of the social economy in Brazil, which comprises more than 33,000 businesses throughout the country, according to the Secretaria Nacional de Economia Solidária (National Board of the Social Economy). However, small-scale artisans face great challenges to the quality and commercialization of their products, hindering their entrepreneurial efforts.

Rede Asta is a social enterprise that supports 52 environmentally-conscious artisan groups in Brazil, benefitting 700 low-income women. The organization provides these groups training in product refinement and grants them market access by selling their products under its brand “Asta”, available at showrooms and online.

With support from BrazilFoundation, Rede Asta will provide:

• Product development for 6 women’s artisan cooperatives,
• Local support and guidance for the cooperatives;
• Workshops on market value;
• Design consultation for additional groups benefitted by Rede Asta

IMPACT:

6 artisan cooperatives supported
40 women and their families benefited
120 people directly benefited

“The product is a major factor in determining success. If the product is of poor quality and unsuitable for the market, the possibility for failure can be very high.” Alice Freitas—Founder of Rede Asta