Amid department stores and fashion items, everyone who visits Shopping Ponta Negra, in Manaus – the capital of Amazonas – will find a space that gives prominence to local culture and the sustainable economy. It is the Copamart store, the Amazonian Crafts Work Cooperative.

Terezinha Socorro Lira Ribeiro, president of Copamart, remembers the date on which Copamart was founded: August 31, 2011. The 25 founding members made the most varied types of crafts, such as biojewelry, decoration products, accessories and creative sewing – all done sustainably.

The cooperative was created with the aim of generating income for associated artisans through production that respects the environment and preserves local culture. Today, the cooperative has 14 members who produce according to customer demand.

Sustainable manufacturing

“Our products are handmade decorative pieces, accessories, creative sewing, souvenirs and gifts”, says Terezinha in an interview to Cooperação Ambiental.

Within the logic of circular economy, Copamart pieces are manufactured with natural raw materials such as seeds, fibers, fabrics and recyclable materials. Terezinha explains:

“The cooperative contributes to keeping our natural ecosystem in balance, as it practices conscious consumption of raw materials, makes use of recyclable materials (paper, fabric, plastic, filters and coffee grounds), and promotes the use of materials offered by nature (seeds, fibers, wood, for example).”

Furthermore, Copamart’s crafts carry local culture. In this way, the cooperative disseminates the Amazonian identity through its Cultural Sustainability Policy.

This policy consists of producing regional products; use of local raw materials in products; representation of Amazonian identity and indigenous art in his works; unique design that values the Amazon region. The cooperative also disseminates Amazonian culture and its cultural practices by participating in fairs, exhibitions and digital events.

Intercooperation is also part of Copamart’s history. In partnership with Cooperjuta, also from Amazonas, an agricultural cooperative, Copamart developed a collection of regional decorative products using mallow and jute fiber, traditional products from the region, as the main raw material.

Environmental awareness is also practiced by Copamart in its production. This is the case of the “Plush Fauna” collection, launched in 2021, which draws attention to Amazonian animals at risk of extinction.

Community support

Terezinha says that Copamart was created to apply, above all, the 7th principle of cooperativism: Interest in the Community.

Copamart offers courses taught by its members in the area of crafts, entrepreneurship and financial education through the projects Artesanato Itinerante (Itinerante Crafts) e Artesanato na Comunidade (Crafts in the Community). The goal is to encourage local entrepreneurship.

In this sense, the cooperative holds free craft workshops, teaching manufacturing and encouraging income generation for families in a state of social vulnerability. Participants receive a donation of the material needed to take the course.

Furthermore, “the cooperative positively impacts the lives of members through the sales of its products, the offering of courses and training and through the hiring of designs that help members in the development of new products”, concludes the president of the cooperative.