The Pratigi Environmental Protection Rural Area Producers’ Cooperative (Cooprap) was the only production unit in Bahia to be granted the third edition of Sebrae’s Top 100 Crafts awards.

With the achievement, Cooprap will have the opportunity to exhibit its members’ production in major sporting events such as the FIFA 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup. Additionally, yet in 2012, it will participate in several gatherings. The first will be held in September, in Rio de Janeiro, when the awarding ceremony is also scheduled to take place. In November, the work will be showcased at the 23rd National Handicrafts Fair, in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais.

The cooperative was selected among 1,800 entries. Seven experts completed the selection of the one hundred winners in May. Representatives from the areas of ​design, fair trade, from the press, the handicrafts industry and from Ministry of Culture were on the jury. The evaluation took 11 criteria into account, including innovation, beauty, social responsibility, commercial feasibility, and environmental and cultural character. “Handicraft expresses Brazilian customs. Ours, in particular, reflects the tradition of ‘quilombola’ descendants,” says Wellinton Silva, a Leader of Cooprap.