Brazil · Wild fiber weaving and sewing (basketry-to-jewelry transition craft)
Artesanato em Capim Dourado
The seasonal harvesting and hand-weaving of capim dourado — the long, naturally metallic-golden stem of a wildflower (Syngonanthus nitens), not actually a grass — sewn together with buriti palm fiber into baskets, mats, and, increasingly, fine jewelry, centered on the Mumbuca quilombo community within Jalapão State Park, Tocantins. Quilombolas — descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped bondage to establish autonomous communities — learned the technique originally from the Xerente Indigenous people, who first transmitted methods for transforming the golden stem into woven objects; that knowledge has passed through generations of Mumbuca families since. Capim dourado can be legally harvested only once a year, during a specific state-regulated window from September 20 to November 20, and the sale of raw, unworked material outside Jalapão is legally prohibited — only finished crafted pieces may be exported — a formal legal structure specifically designed to protect both the plant's ecological sustainability and the economic value captured by the artisan communities who harvest and work it.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not Applicable — no UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inscription exists for this craft at time of writing, though it is protected through Brazil's own domestic legal and sustainable-harvest regulatory framework
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