FONART

The Fondo Nacional para el Fomento de las Artesanías or National Fund for the Development of Arts and Crafts (best known as FONART) is a dependence of the Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL). It was established in 1974 to promote and protect traditional Mexican handcrafts. The agency has four main programs including artisan training, retail selling and the sponsoring of craft competitions as the local, regional and national level. FONART directly helped 26,600 artisans in 2006, but the agency has been criticized for being inefficient and not meeting the demands of national transparency laws. Currently, it seeks the capacity to authenticate crafts on a national and international level due to competitions from imitations from Asia.

FONART was founded in 1974 and since 1995, it has been under the supervision of the Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL). The overall purpose is to protect and promote traditional Mexican handcrafts, opening national and international markets for craftsmen as many of these workers live on poor, rural and indigenous areas. There are an estimated 8 million artisans working in Mexico, and FONART directly helped 26,600 of them in 2006. Those who live in impoverished or indigenous areas have priority. In 2007, the agency had a 71 million peso budget, 42 million pesos of which were generated by sales of crafts.

FONART has four different programs to promote and benefit Mexican handcrafts. These involving artisan training, technical assistance, financing, craft competitions and a government buying program.

Training is offered to help artisans improve the quality and design of their products, while maintaining traditional cultural elements as well as making production techniques more environmentally friendly. Grants are awarded to qualified individuals or organized groups mostly as an alternative to traditional banking. Annual regional competitions to honor artisans who have excelled in their craft, as well at those who stand out in areas such as innovation and the preservation and rescue of traditional techniques. Competitions are held at the local, state and national levels. Winning pieces are then considered to be high-value items.

FONART also has a buying program where pieces are purchased directly from artisans at regional centers or through agents that travel to crafts areas periodically. FONART also buys pieces from different state-run institutions that promote crafts. The acquisition system has five storage centers located in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí and Mexico City.

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