The group of potters that make up the Center for Arts and Crafts (CAO) is the result of successive artistic residencies developed in Cape Verde that included several potters in the region of Trás di Munti, on the island of Santiago – Cape Verde. Its involvement with rehabilitation projects in the area of traditional artistic production techniques (ceramics, basketry and breadmaking) socially and economically favored the resurgence of these activities, which greatly contribute to the maintenance and affirmation of the cultural identity of this place.
Pottery in Trás-di-Muntiu is made by women and developed according to ancestral techniques of African origin. It is defined as a seasonal domestic activity, in an informal economy. It takes place in the dry season and is an alternative or complementary way of subsistence to agricultural activity. The orange-colored utilitarian crockery is called water crockery (pots, pots and bowls), fire crockery (pans, binders and stoves), table crockery (trays, platters and bowls), and even dyeing crockery (pot of “tinguí”). Geometric or figurative decorative motifs can be in relief, with plastic applications or incisions. It is through the shape and decoration of the pieces that the potters give the workshop's mark. The figurative, as a form of expression, is also assumed through anthropozoomorphic forms, a reflection of popular imagination, based on stories and myths.
