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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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