Following an order issued by the Regional Secretary for the Economy, Vasco Cordeiro, the Regional Government of the Azores has awarded, under the incentive scheme for the development of handicrafts, a subsidy to one hundred artisans from the islands of São Miguel, Terceira, Pico, Faial, São Jorge and Graciosa to support the organisation of training projects and the participation in specialised fairs in a total amount of nearly 50 thousand Euros.

These incentives are intended to meet the specific needs of crafts companies by stimulating their investment capacity and market competitiveness in addition to promoting production quality.

Of the 380 crafts units registered in the Regional Centre for Handicrafts, nearly one hundred have submitted applications for support to the participation in fairs, which involved a global investment of 40 thousand Euros. The remaining funds were awarded to the organisation of various training courses that were held on São Miguel and Terceira.

The allocation of funds follow the reinforcement of the investment made by the Regional Secretariat for the Economy in the organisation of crafts fairs, mainly at a regional level, with the purpose of implementing a network of events dedicated to handicrafts during the main summer festivities in the Azores, thus stimulating the internal market and providing Azorean artisans with important opportunities to disseminate, promote and commercialise their products.

The handicrafts sector is a specific sector in our regional economy that is rapidly growing. It is also an important contribution for the preservation of cultural heritage, the creation of self-employment and of a complementary activity for the tourism sector.