Projects
Over the years, we have supported many clients and managed education, research, strategy and design projects in varied creative fields.
A common denominator across all of our projects, is our passion to create value through deep dedication to art, creativity, sustainability and responsible production.
Saber Fazer at Biblioteca Almeida Garrett
Cycle of 11 workshops for children and families held at Porto’s public library between 2026 and 2027. For this first cycle, Saber Fazer organised workshops on book binding, wool felting, weaving and ceramics.
TransparencyChain - Tech and digital skills for the crafts sector.
The TransparencyChain Erasmus+ project, coordinated by Barbot Bernardo, aims to make blockchain-based provenance tracking accessible to craftspeople from different backgrounds. By developing a scalable platform and providing training, the project will enhance transparency in the craft sector, ensuring ethical sourcing and sustainable production. The project will also foster digital skills, helping craftspeople improve their market competitiveness through digital marketing strategies. Read more about this subject in our journal
Contamos Todos em Macedo de Cavaleiros
Project management, contents, training, graphic and editorial design. "Contamos Todos" promotes artistic and cultural practices in Macedo de Cavaleiros, a remote region in Northeastern Portugal. Our intervention focuses on the wool and silk clusters and includes training and education for local stakeholders, developing learning materials and registering traditional weaving patterns and techniques. Read more about this subject in our journal
Saber Fazer em Vinhais
Project management, contents, training and graphic and editorial design. "Viver Mais e Melhor" is a follow-up for our 2021-2023 "Cultura para Todos" initiative, when we first piloted a community learning methodology that we are now adopting in other projects at both the national and European levels. Our intervention focuses on the wool cluster and includes training and education for local stakeholders, developing learning materials and registering traditional weaving patterns and techniques. Read more about this project in our Journal.
Edições Saber Fazer
Our in-house book publisher, focusing on technical books on the topics of craft and small-scale manufacturing. Our Saber Fazer unit is the editor and publisher and our graphic design studio Ofício is in charge of the visuals and all the editorial design. You can find our collection at Saber Fazer website.
Natural Dyeing School for the Revive Project
The Revive Project is part of the Europe Through Textiles: Network for an integrated and interdisciplinary Humanities (EuroWeb - Cost Action 19131), which vision is to re-write European history based on its massive production, trade, consumption and reuse of textiles and dress. During 4 days, Euroweb participants had the opportunity to learn with Alice Bernardo and Guida Fonseca about natural colourants, historical dyeing, dyeing techniques and mordanting, mordant dyes (weld, madder, cochineal & others), vat dyes and direct dyes (indigo, woad, orchil).
Shearing Training
We organised several shearing training events for public and private organisatios in Northern Portugal in the spring of 2023. Our target audience was shearers, producers, and other professionals interested in sheep production. The training was led by Martin O’Connel, a professional shearer from New Zealand and a member of the Saber Fazer team. He shares his technique and professional experience in this area. Susana O'Connel monitors and explains the shearing technique and principles that respect the animal and the fibre until the wool is removed.
Capacity Building for the Serralves Foundation
In 2023, we launched a training project for technicians from the Serralves Park education service to create new activities for different audiences, taking advantage of the Park's existing resources. We organised training sessions on wool processing, weaving and shearing to use wool from the Park's flock and integrate wool processing into the annual educational activities. Once again, we planted flax and organised a long-form linen course from seed to yarn.
Capacity Building for Parque Biológico de Gaia
In 2023, we launched a training project for technicians from the Gaia Biological Park education service to create new activities for different audiences, taking advantage of the Park's existing resources. We organised training sessions on wool processing to use wool from the Park's flock and integrate wool processing into the annual educational activities.
Cultura Para Todos em Vinhais
Project management, contents, training and graphic and editorial design. Cultura Para Todos em Vinhais is a project dedicated to promoting artistic and cultural practices in the Municipality of Vinhais, a remote region in Northeastern Portugal. Our intervention focuses on the wool cluster and includes training and education for local stakeholders, developing learning materials and registering traditional weaving patterns and techniques
Shearing Demonstration
Over the past few years, we have been organising, for different entities, shearing demonstrations aimed at the end public. With wool's economic devaluation as a raw material, shearing practices have also been degraded. Therefore, it is urgent to raise awareness for shearing that guarantees animal welfare and safeguards the quality of the wool removed.
Indieworkers
Indieworkers is a project by our partners at Cru Creative Hub dedicated to independent workers in the Creative Industries. In recent years we have been collaborating with the project in training events, in its podcast (as interviewers and interviewees) and in supporting the preparation of applications to grants and cooperation programmes.
Consulting to a denim dyeing factory (Natural Dyeing with Indigo)
We supported a denim washing and dyeing company specializing in the research and development process of dyeing processes with Indigo without using chemicals. The client applied the research results to develop sustainable high-added value solutions.
Portuguese Wool at PINTA, Vimioso
Educational event where we organized two workshops: “The Portuguese Wool” and “Wool Processing”.
Indigo Dyeing at Museu do Oriente
A project for Fundação do Oriente in Lisbon, where we organised courses dedicated to organic dyeing with indigo and pigment extraction.
Saber Fazer at Teatro D. Maria II
Workshops "Basket Weaving" and "Wool Processing" as part of the event "Portugal em Vias de Extinção" held in 2018 at the D. Maria II Theater in Lisbon.
Craftmanship+ (Porto/ UE)
Project management and proposal preparation for an Erasmus+ project. The idea for the project came from Ofício/Saber Fazer, an application prepared with the consultancy Advancis Business Services, Aveiro University and a consortium of organisations from different countries. Started in 2015, Craftsmanship+ focused on knowledge transmission processes in the craft sector, both in terms of teaching techniques and in management and entrepreneurship processes.
Saber Fazer at Festa do Outono de Serralves
Since 2014, Saber Fazer has been responsible for organising and guiding educational and experimental activities at the Festa do Outono, a large event that takes place annually in the Serralves Foundation park, in Porto. Our activities, which occupy a considerable area of the event, are dedicated to areas such as Wool Processing, Wool Felting, Weaving and Basketry.
Saber Fazer in Famalicão
This was a research and education project for the Municipality of Famalicão, where activities were carried out in two basic schools, the Museu da Indústria Têxtil da Bacia do Ave and Parque da Devesa. The activities were dedicated to flax, linen, silk, and natural dyeing plants, including demonstration and long-term courses with all the productive cycles.
Saber Fazer in Serralves
Research project and annual educational program for the Serralves Foundation. The project included activities dedicated to natural textile fibres and their processing techniques. The entire program was supported by the production of raw materials in situ, namely wool from the Serralves Park herd, linen, silk, and dye plants.