Inovação, Empreendedorismo e Artes e Ofícios Tradicionais. Estudo de caso da Região Viseu Dão Lafões

Abstract

With the changes manifested in rural areas over the last few decades, the preservation of these ter‑ ritories and their people is associated with the ability of the local population to innovate, often using endogenous resources. Traditional Arts and Crafts (TACs), allied to other local economic activities, constitute instruments of local socioeconomic regeneration. Starting from a research based on the websites of the fourteen municipalities of the interior region Viseu Dão Lafões in Portugal, complemented with analysis of bibliographic information regarding the initiatives described in the same websites, in this study, it is intended to observe what is the dis‑ semination that is made by the websites of the municipalities in the region and explore the innovation imprinted by these initiatives. The results suggest that despite the existence of notable examples of TACs initiatives in the region, with a clear focus on innovation – product, process, organizational and marketing, the promotion carried out by the municipalities is (still) modest. Taking into account the artisanal nature of these initiatives themselves, the scarcity of human and financial resources in the municipalities where they are located, but their contribution to strengthening the regional identity and to tourism, institutional support, namely in terms of the promotion that is carried out and animation practices involving artisans, must be reinforced.