Cart
0
Ra-Ro Journal
Rare Stories
Stories, news and behind the scenes of Portuguese craft. What’s happening in the workshops, at the fairs and at Ra-Ro.
Baskets at home: 8 ways to decorate with Portuguese baskets
Eight simple ways to use Portuguese baskets at home, from throws in the living room to bread on the table. Plus the fibres behind Portuguese basketry and how to make a basket last.
Read article
Empreita, palm and esparto: what they are and how they differ
Empreita is the braid made from dwarf palm leaves, sewn into baskets, bags and hats. Esparto is a tougher grass, used for rugs, heavy baskets and rope.
Read article
Endangered crafts in Portugal: rare techniques that still survive
Which Portuguese craft techniques are at risk of disappearing, which are on UNESCO's urgent safeguarding list and the national inventory, why they fade and what keeps them alive.
Read article
What makes a piece rare? How rarity is measured in handmade crafts
What makes a handmade piece rare? I explain the criteria we use (how many hands still make it, technique, time, raw material) and the five levels of the Ra‑Ro Index, with real examples.
Read article
Rare crafts in Portugal: the last master artisans still at work
Eight rare crafts in Portugal, from Algarve esparto to the cobertor de papa blanket of Maçainhas, told through the master artisans who keep them alive and the pieces they make.
Read article
Between the machine and the wait: Isidoro Ramos's barreleira
An esparto basket for the laundry that waited for the barrela. Isidoro Ramos, from Paderne, makes the barreleira with the empreita his grandmother and mother taught him.
Read article
Esparto Donkey Head: the memory of a companion that almost vanished
A donkey head braided in esparto by Isidoro Ramos, in Paderne, keeps the memory of an animal almost extinct in the Algarve and of a craft passed down the family.
Read article
-10%Rare Combinations
November Selection
