Recycling Rio
Issue #32
The Coopa-Roca collective is knitting its way from Rio’s slums to New York’s catwalks
By Amy Westervelt
Published: June 1st, 2007 | 12:00am
There are craft cooperatives all over the world, predominantly comprised of women — knitting scarves for tourists in cold Scandinavian winters, pounding silver jewelry, and painting colorful wooden tchotchkes in Mexico. These groups make a living selling their wares to tourists and the occasional local, but they tend to be small operations that struggle to keep afloat.
Rocínha’s Craftwork and Sewing Cooperative, a.k.a. Coopa-Roca, has been turning the peasant cooperative on its ear since 1981. Located in the favela (slum) of Rocinha, near Rio de Janeiro, Coopa-Roca allows women to work from home, learn new skills, and make far more money than they otherwise could in any of the other avenues available to them. The co-op was born out of a recycling project intended to teach the local children to pick up after themselves. When scraps of fabric were brought in with the rest of the items, some of the local women asked for it and made beautiful patchwork pillows and quilts with it. Organizer Maria Teresa “Tetê” Romeiro Leal decided it would be a shame to let all that talent go to waste, especially when these women were desperately in need of money, so she gathered the group together and formed the coop.
What makes Coopa-Roca unique from other peasant cooperatives is its relationship with high-end, modern clothing and product designers. It’s a unique formula that Leal figured out early on. “The secret to success lies in surprising the buyer,” Leal says, “poor plus poor equals poor, but poor plus rich equals new possibilities.” To that end, Coopa-Roca designs original creations, pairing artisanal techniques like patchwork quilting, crocheting, and accenting formal items like evening gowns with luxurious fabrics.
No other co-op boasts the partner roster of these women. They have crocheted bags for Paul Smith, made the tiny flowers on those super-cool Tord Boontje chandeliers that every lover of modern design had to have a few years back (the ones with the long paper and cloth strands of flowery lace), and are responsible for the unique and intricate details that have made many Carlos Miele creations shine on the runway.
Because they have kept the focus on quality, design-conscious products, Coopa-Roca has managed to achieve far more success and renown than similar co-ops. They have profited enough to build a proper sewing center, keep all of the women on a reasonable living wage, and even conduct outreach in the community, although it’s hardly needed anymore. Young women in the area are beating down their door wanting to be trained by the skilled seamstresses who keep the operation running. In a town where many women never go to school and have limited opportunities once they reach adulthood, this is a huge marker of success.
Visit coopa-roca.org.br for more information on the co-op and its partners.
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