From the sewing machine to the stage

From the sewing machine to the stage: artisan gives a talk on empowerment

The Instituto C&A annually hosts the National Volunteer Meeting for store managers, volunteers, and partner institutions. The goal is to celebrate, share, and recognize inspiring experiences. It was no coincidence that Ana Lúcia da Silva Franco, leader of the Fuxicarte production group, and Alice Freitas, co-founder of Rede Asta, were invited to speak at the 2017 event, which was themed Inspire, Collaborate, and Act.

“We are convinced that we are co-responsible for our collective life and that every individual has an important and irreplaceable role to play in achieving the common good, as well as inspiring them that the fashion industry can change and that it is our role to support initiatives that will make this happen,” says Daniela Pavan, Community Strengthening Manager at Instituto C&A.

It is important for the world that fashion giants like C&A are striving to make this industry fairer and more sustainable. It is important that, in addition to giving a voice to Alice as a social entrepreneur, Ana Lúcia, a Brazilian artisan, was also invited to share her story as an empowered woman.

Ana Lúcia spoke to an audience for the first time at the TEDx event where Alice was invited and brought her along. Since then, she developed a passion for telling her story.

“It’s important to show people that my life changed because of a course in a social project. They need to know that social projects bear fruit so they don’t stop investing. I used to live in a community, but I don’t anymore. Along with me, other women earned an income through Fuxicarte.” Ana Lúcia Franco, artisan

The artisan’s work was recognized by the event, which gifted the audience with 500 air-freshening sachets made by Fuxicarte. This generated income, diverted textile waste from the environment by using fabric scraps, promoted Brazilian craftsmanship, and empowered the artisan.

“There were so many young people at the event wanting to make things happen and move forward with social projects. I felt useful. They even received a gift made by me! They were happy and came to congratulate me on my work.” Ana Lúcia Franco, artisan

See Ana Lúcia’s interview with Hypeness here.

The first time the artisan took the stage was with Alice Freitas at TEDx Jardim Botânico in 2012. You can watch the full talk in the video below: