The Cauchari Solar Plant in Jujuy, Argentina, located 4,000 meters above sea level with over one million panels, was built with Chinese capital, engineering, and materials. Credit: Casa Rosada

By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Jul 18 2025 (IPS)

China, with its investments, products, technology, and innovation focused on solar and wind farms in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as on electricity networks and services, stands out as a driving force for the region’s shift toward energy less reliant on fossil fuels and increasingly cleaner and greener. 

Between 2010 and 2024, China invested US$33.69 billion in renewables in the region, with 70 transactions for as many projects, 54 of which were in non-hydroelectric energy, totaling US$13.138 billion.

These figures alone “highlight China’s importance in supporting the region’s energy transition, both through investments and infrastructure projects,” Enrique Dussel Peters, coordinator of the Latin America and the Caribbean Academic Network on China (RedALC-China), told IPS from Mexico City.“For China, Latin America as a whole is a market that geographically presents many opportunities; first, due to the availability of natural resources, which include critical minerals, and features such as access to water and natural and renewable energy sources”: Ana Lía Rojas.

Beyond money, China “has the capacity to develop technology, implement it, and scale it at the required speed,” said Ana Lia Rojas, executive director of the Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage (Acera).

In a dialogue with IPS in Santiago, Chile, Rojas cited American economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and a United Nations advisor, who has argued that, in short, “the energy transition is Chinese.”

Sachs views China as a “leader in key technologies that will be essential over the next 25 years: photovoltaics, wind, modular nuclear, long-distance energy transmission, 5G (now 5.5G), batteries, electric vehicles, and others.”

The movement toward Latin America has been relentless. While there were no Chinese investments in renewable energy in the region between 2000 and 2009, eight emerged from 2010 to 2014, totaling US$3.298 billion and generating 6,000 jobs, according to RedALC’s Investment Monitor.

Between 2015 and 2019, 25 projects with Chinese financing materialized, totaling US$19.568 billion and creating 9,300 jobs. In the 2020-2024 period, 37 transactions were completed, amounting to US$10.824 billion and generating 15,000 jobs.

Investment volumes dipped in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a revealing contrast emerged: 35 of the 37 renewable energy transactions during this five-year period went to non-hydroelectric projects.

The Lagoinha Solar Complex, inaugurated in July this year and owned by the Brazilian subsidiary of Chinese group CGN. Spanning 304 hectares in Ceará state, northeastern Brazil, it features 337,000 panels that will provide electricity to 240,000 households. Credit: Government of Ceará

Interests and challenges converge

The International Energy Agency (IEA, representing major industrialized consumers) reports a “soaring increase in Chinese clean energy investments globally, particularly in renewables,” surpassing US$625 billion in 2024—nearly double 2015 levels and accounting for 30% of the world’s total, cementing China’s leadership.

Traditionally dominated by state-owned enterprises backed by public funding, China’s energy investment landscape is shifting, with the government increasingly encouraging private sector participation.

Meanwhile, Latin America and the Caribbean saw roughly US$70 billion invested in renewables from 2015 to 2024, of which over US$30.3 billion (43%) came from China, according to the IEA.

Yet the agency notes that despite steady growth in renewable investments, the region represents just 5% of global privately funded clean energy investment—a reflection of high interest rates, scarce long-term financing, and costly public debt.

This highlights the intersection between the region’s needs and challenges and what Dussel Peters describes as China’s strategic focus on technological development and disruptive innovations, from nanomanufacturing to aerospace, including new energy sources.

Chinese investment in renewables “delivers multiple benefits by advancing energy sustainability, supporting the transition to a low-carbon grid, providing critical technology, and creating skilled jobs,” Chilean academic Rodrigo Cáceres told IPS in Santiago.

A researcher at  Diego Portales University’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, Cáceres observes China’s “sustained commitment” in areas like energy storage, smart grids, and green hydrogen, framing the China-Latin America relationship as “strategic and long-term.”

A key factor enabling this enduring partnership is the vast territorial, demographic, and resource potential Latin America and the Caribbean offers China. “If we look at the per capita income we have in the region and compare it with China’s, we have more or less the same. But Latin America has half the population of China and twice the territory of China,” observed Rojas.

Twice the territory “means that projects can be deployed differently than in the rest of the world,” noted the director of Acera.

According to Rojas, “it is evident that, for China, Latin America as a whole is a market that geographically presents many opportunities; first, due to the availability of natural resources, which include critical minerals, and features such as access to water and natural and renewable energy sources.”

“Second, because it is clearly a less densely populated region, which provides a certain degree of flexibility or freedom to develop projects in the territory that will aid the energy transition, not only for local or national economies but for the world,”she said.

The Tanque Novo Wind Complex in Bahia, Brazil, developed by Chinese group CGN. It consists of seven parks with 40 wind turbines, an installed capacity of 180 MW, and can serve 430,000 residents. Credit: Tanque Novo

Brazil, a leading hub 

In Brazil, China’s presence in the electricity sector “is deep and strategic, the result of more than a decade of investments by large state-owned companies such as State Grid and China Three Gorges (CTG),” said Tulio Cariello, research director at the Brazil-China Business Council.

“In fact, it has become the main destination for these companies’ assets outside China. Both State Grid and CTG have the majority of their international investments in Brazil, reflecting the country’s structural importance in their global projection,” Cariello told IPS in Rio de Janeiro.

State Grid is now a major electricity transmission operator in Brazil, and its massive entry into that market was solidified with the acquisition in 2016-2018 of CPFL Energia (formerly Companhia Paulista de Força e Luz), one of the country’s leading power distribution companies.

Another flagship project led by State Grid was the construction of ultra-high-voltage transmission systems, connecting the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon (11,200 MW) with the Southeast region, which has the highest electricity demand.

Combined, solar and wind energy sources account for a quarter of Brazil’s electricity matrix, according to its National Energy Balance.

By the end of 2024, Brazil’s installed wind power capacity—over 16% of the national electricity matrix—reached 33.7 gigawatts, with 1,103 wind farms and 11,720 wind turbines. By 2032, cumulative new installed capacity is projected to reach 56 GW.

Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind established its first factory outside China last year in Bahia, in Brazil’s Northeast, with an investment of over US$20 million to produce 150 turbines annually, ranging from 5.3 MW to 7.5 MW. This decision demonstrates strong confidence in the Brazilian market.

The volume of Chinese investment in Brazil between 2007 and 2023 reached US$73.3 billion—US$33.2 billion in the electricity sector—with 264 confirmed projects, and is on track to reach US$123.2 billion with 342 projects.

Regarding the impact of investments in renewable energy, “it can be seen on several fronts: increased generation and transmission capacity, modernization of critical infrastructure, greater stability in power supply, and job creation and technology transfer,” said Cariello.

The Los Cururos Wind Farm in Ovalle, Chile, is one of dozens of installations generating electricity in Chile thanks to the constant winds in this Pacific-facing region. Credit: Orlando Milesi / IPS

Advancing Across the Regional Map 

In Argentina, with initial financing of US$390 million from the China Export-Import Bank (Chexim), construction began in 2018 on the Cauchari solar park—one of the largest in Latin America—in the northwestern province of Jujuy.

Some 4,000 meters above sea level and equipped with 1.2 million panels, Cauchari has an installed capacity of 315 MW (with an expansion planned to add another 200 MWh) and reduces carbon emissions by 325,000 tons.

There are other solar developments with Chinese involvement, while Goldwind has acquired wind farms in the central province of Buenos Aires and the southern province of Chubut.

Researcher Juliana González Jáuregui from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso) has highlighted Beijing’s participation in Argentina’s renewable energy projects, focusing on its provinces—even before the country joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2022.

In contrast, “Europe and the United States have yet to grasp the importance of engaging at the subnational level in Argentina, something China achieved quickly and significantly. The provinces hold natural resources, so the subnational component is essential,” González told Dialogue Earth.

Meanwhile, in Chile, “what has happened in the last two years is that Chinese companies have bet on the country as a gateway to Latin America and have set up several companies that create jobs,” said Rojas.

“They are interested in showcasing the quality and technological advancements they’ve achieved in these sectors, focusing on storage, inverter systems, and everything that helps stabilize power grid flows,” she stated.

In this way, China “has increasingly strengthened its presence in the electricity sector, where we have decarbonization efforts and which represents 22% of the country’s energy consumption,” particularly in the distribution segment through the acquisition of key companies to supply the population, explained Rojas.

A notable example is the Chinese group State Grid, which in 2020 acquired Chile’s Compañía General de Electricidad (CGE) from Spain’s Naturgy for US$3 billion and purchased Chilquinta, another electricity distributor in Chile, from the American company Sempra Energy for US$2.23 billion.

Additionally, it holds a stake in Transelec, the largest distributor, giving it a dominant majority position in Chile’s electricity distribution market.

Areas of Lima illuminated by the growing integration of renewable energy into electricity generation. The former Enel Perú, now Pluz Perú, was acquired by China’s CSG and serves over 1.5 million subscribers in the metropolitan area. Credit: Perú Inkas Tours

In Peru, China Southern Power Grid (CSG) acquired Enel Peru from Italy’s Enel Group in 2024 for US$3.1 billion. The company, now called Pluz Peru, operates in the market with 1,590 MW of generation from various sources and also participates in distribution.

The Peruvian firm includes a solar complex in the southern municipality of Moquegua, with 560,000 panels spread over 400 hectares, capable of generating 440 GWh annually, and a wind farm in the southwestern province of Nazca, with 42 turbines producing up to 600 GWh per year.

In Colombia, another Chinese giant, CTG, promoted the construction of the Baranoa solar plant in the northern department of Atlantico. With an investment of US$20 million and 36,000 modules, it can add 20 MW to the grid.

Though a small project far from major economic and urban centers, it reflects shared interests with Colombia, where President Gustavo Petro champions renewable energy and the decarbonization of the economy and society.

In Nicaragua, it was announced that China Communications Construction Company will build a 70 MW solar plant in the municipality of Nindirí, south of Managua, with 112,700 panels at a cost of US$80 million.

The Managua government—which recently restored relations with China in 2021 after cutting ties with Taiwan—hopes the project will not only feed into the power grid but also support drinking water supply and sanitation in the country.

In a leap across the Caribbean, China’s International Development Cooperation Agency delivered a batch of donated supplies to Cuba last March to support a photovoltaic park project with Chinese assistance in Guanajay, about 50 kilometers west of Havana.

According to data gathered by IPS in Havana, the project includes seven solar parks and will contribute 35 MW to the island’s electricity system. The remaining parks, to be developed by China’s Shanghái Electric and Cuba’s Unión Eléctrica, will add another 85 MW. Cuba’s power demand stands at 3,500 MW, with a deficit sometimes exceeding 1,500 MW.

“We hope to leverage this project as an opportunity to contribute China’s strength in ensuring energy security and promoting sustainable social development in Cuba,” said Hua Xin, China’s ambassador in Havana.

A production gondola at the new wind turbine factory in Camaçari, northeastern Brazil, installed by Chinese firm Goldwind. Wind energy is the second-largest renewable source in Brazil’s electricity supply, after hydropower. Credit: Goldwind

The Ball on the Roof 

Chilean expert Rojas noted that Chinese companies obviously aim to promote their own brands but also establish research centers or technology transfer hubs to help countries accelerate their energy transition.

“They have cutting-edge technologies that we currently see in PowerPoint presentations—but they’re already implementing them in their own cities,” she pointed out.

Experts agree that, alongside territorial potential, population, and resources, the regulatory framework of the electricity business—which varies across borders—is a key investment attraction.

This becomes even more relevant as major investors like China shift from merely selling products and technology to acquiring more assets, immersing themselves in the complexities of service networks, costs, and pricing.

For many countries in the region, the observation Jorge Arbache, an economics professor at the University of Brasilia, makes about Brazil may resonate. He analyzes how the advantages and resources enabling the energy transition are being mobilized.

He argues that “while China has used the energy transition as a pillar of its national development policy,” Brazil still treats its advantages “mainly as primary, short-term, and predatory assets—with low added value, institutional fragmentation, and a lack of coordinated strategy.”

“What China shows us is that the energy transition and natural capital, when well-coordinated, are more than just a shift in the energy matrix: they are a development strategy, a tool for sovereignty, and a source of geopolitical power,” concluded Arbache.

With reporting by Mario Osava (Brazil), Orlando Milesi (Chile) and Dariel Pradas (Cuba).

At the San Felipe School, in Coyhaique, Chile, the solar panels of a 30 kW plant will be installed which will be inaugurated in the first week of December

By Orlando Milesi
SANTIAGO, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

Chile, a country rich in solar and wind energy and with huge photovoltaic power stations  and wind turbines in its elongated territory, managed to change its grid by incorporating renewable energies, which account for an installed capacity equivalent to 43.8 % of its electricity production.

However, it is woefully lacking in distributed generation projects, also known as decentralised generation, which are small scale, mostly dedicated to self-consumption and involving organised communities. This is so even though these initiatives would introduce the population to the advantages of clean energy.

Distributed generation would allow such a shift, but is currently in its infancy in this South American country of 19.8 million people. It lacks adequate legal impetus, access to financing and suffers from a cultural deficit among a population that knows little about it.“We are used to a centralised system and although there has been fossil energy replacement by renewable energy, it is still a large-scale, centralised model with negative impacts": Cristian Mires.

Successful projects belong to mega-companies that have installed parks and wind turbines in the northern Atacama Desert and in southern Patagonia, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, selling their generation to the National Electricity System (SEN).

This profitable business does not benefit Chilean consumers who are suffering a huge tariff increase that will reach up to 60% in 2025. It is a gradual increase that began to be charged in July and will culminate next January after five years of tariff freezes due to the covid pandemic.

Thus, the impact of distributed generation with its panels on the roofs of homes, schools and community or municipal buildings is small.

The leftist government of Gabriel Boric sought to promote this citizen energy and reach the goal of 500 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity by the end of his term, in March 2026.

However, 17 months away from reaching that goal, distributed generation is minimal and only 0.1% corresponds to joint generation, as distributed generation is also known, according to the state-run National Energy Commission.

The Ministry of Energy told IPS that as of November 2024, the total installed capacity of distributed generation projects for self-consumption reached only 290 MW.

“Statistics show an upward trend in this type of project. Several initiatives promoted by the Ministry of Energy seek to encourage the development of this segment, such as the Public Solar Roofs 2.0 programme, which is being implemented and aims to install photovoltaic projects in public institutions,” said the institution that directs the country’s energy policy.

In 2015-2019, this programme installed photovoltaic systems on 136 buildings in 13 regions of Chile for a total of 5.3 megawatt peak (MWp). A technical office was then created to support public institutions in their feasibility analyses of solar energy plans.

Chile has decided, as part of its international climate commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, that its non-conventional renewable energies will contribute 80% of electricity generation by 2030 and 100% by 2050, when it will reach net zero emissions.

Solar panels installed in the roof of the Industrial Secondary School of Valdivia, a city 850 kilometers south of Santiago. Credit: Courtesy of Sofía Alarcón

Barriers in Chile

Cristián Mires, lawyer and president of the NGO Energía Colectiva, says there are a number of barriers to developing jointly owned distributive energy.

“These projects are not cheap. Technical, legal and financial advice is required. A share is equivalent to at least US$530 per user. And if we want bigger savings, we are talking about up to US$2,100. And the majority of the population can’t afford that cost,” he told IPS.

There is no public or private funding for decentralised generation facilities, he claims.

This slows down the implementation of the 2014 Law on Distributed Generation for Self-consumption, which allows households, schools and businesses to self-supply their electricity use through their own generation and inject the surplus into the SEN. In practice, such generation has very restrictive rules for joint ownership.

“It needs to be modified, and as the Citizens‘ Energy Action Group we are participating in technical roundtables with the government and parliament to that end,” Mires said.

“We are used to a centralised system and although there has been fossil energy replacement by renewable energy, it is still a large-scale, centralised model with negative impacts,” he added.

In August, Energía Colectiva, based in Chile and present in other Latin American countries, launched the document Citizen energy in Chile, proposals for its promotion and implementation, where it claims there is potential to reach eight gigawatts (GW) of such citizen generation by 2040.

According to the document, Chile needs “a transition that conceives energy as a right, democratising its production and distribution. A transition focused on satisfying human needs, but which nevertheless understands the pressing need to reduce energy use. Such a transition can only be driven by citizens”.

Arrayán Wind Park, one of the 10 largest in Chile, located in the northern municipality of Ovalle. Credit: Ministry of Energy

Energy Communities, a key

So-called Energy Communities seek to encourage the participation of new groups in the production, management, use and marketing of energy.

They aim for a decentralised, local energy model with less environmental impact.

These communities seek to organise citizens to generate and manage their own energy, whether for social, economic and/or environmental purposes.

“These communities are considered a fundamental tool for carrying out just energy transitions, where people play a central role in the transformation towards more equitable systems of energy generation and use”, according to the specialised magazine Energía y Equidad.

Based on the use of renewable energy, the Communities offer access to affordable, clean and secure energy; enabling an active participation in response to the climate and ecological crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In short, these Communities aim to promote local energy autonomy, strengthen social cohesion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decontaminate the local environment.

The 2014 law and its regulation five years later set standards for joint generation and joint ownership.

The Nueva Zelanda school in the municipality of Independencia, in the northern part of the capital, and Coopeumo, a farmers’ cooperative in the O Higgins region, bordering the Santiago metropolitan region, are community projects developed by municipalities and with citizen participation.

Both are connected to a grid into which they inject the energy generated and then receive discounts on their electricity bills.

Jorge Nauto, principal of the Industrial Secondary School of Valdivia, a city 850 kilometres south of Santiago, praised the experience of installing photovoltaic panels on the roof of his school.

“It is a 70 kilowatt peak (kWp) system determined according to the available surface area and the building’s annual consumption. It allows generating power for the premises and the injection of surpluses into the conventional electricity grid through the use of the Distributed Generation Act,” he told IPS from his location.

“Thanks to this generation, we achieved a significant reduction in electricity bills,” Nauto said, before emphasising the value, also educational, of using clean, renewable energy.

New business model

Antu Energía is a company based in Coyhaique, in the southern region of Aysén, which implements a new business model with photovoltaic energy.

It allows remote discounts, which means that a person can own or participate in a photovoltaic plant that injects energy in one place and discount that value in another place from the same distribution company.

We are calling for small companies or individuals to participate in Virtual Solar Panels by acquiring a minimum unit equivalent to generating 500 watts,” Manuel Matta, founding partner of Antu Energía, told IPS from Coyhaique.

The model lowers the investment to US$737 per kilowatt (kW) installed and compares favourably with a similar individually driven project that costs US$2,632 per kW.

This electrical engineer has already sold 28 of 60 minimum units of participation in the 30 kW plant installed on the roofs of the San Felipe high school in Coyhaique’s Plaza de Armas.

Daniela Zamorano, project coordinator for Energía Colectiva, told IPS from Joao Pessoa, in the northern Brazilian state of Paraíba, where she lives, that Chile lacks the political will to promote jointly-owned distributed generation.

“We are seeing problems today with rising rates, and the solutions proposed by the government always come from the logic of subsidising consumption. This is a snowball that reaches gigantic public spending amounts. But they do not visualise options for a long-term solution such as distributed generation,” she said.

José Carlos Castro, founding partner and former president of the Arteza Cooperative in Ribeira, Paraíba state, northeastern Brazil. Credit: Carlos Müller / IPS

By Carlos Müller
CABACEIRAS, Brazil, Nov 11 2024 (IPS)

The small community of Ribeira stands out in the Northeast, the poorest region of Brazil. There is no unemployment here. One in five inhabitants make a living directly or indirectly from the Arteza Cooperative of Tanners and Leather Artisans.

“An idea has the power to transform your world,” said in a philosophical tone Ângelo Macio, president of Arteza, recalling the creation of the cooperative in 1998 under the impulse of a Dutch priest who no longer lives in the region.

“You come to the community and you don’t see unemployed young people, they all work in the workshops, they have their income, they raise their children, they have their houses… their transport. Everything comes from the leather activity”, he said, while showing a sandal made by one of the cooperative’s artisans.

This is the case of Tarcisio de Andrade, 29, and a member of the cooperative for seven years. “I am married and have a son. My wife doesn’t work, but we all live off my work in Arteza. I don’t plan to leave Ribeira,” he said while making a sandal.

The expansion of the cooperative, which has a tannery, a shop selling supplies and tools, other shops selling its products and online commerce, has boosted the local economy. At first, the tannery processed 800 hides per month, then it spiked to 12,000, a number the members had never thought they would reach. Nowadays they process 20,000 hides.

The 1,700 residents of Ribeira seem to believe that anything is possible.

Before, there was no petrol station, no department shops, and no pharmacy. Thanks to the cooperative’s earnings, now they have all that, and people don’t have to travel 13 kilometres to Cabaceiras, the capital of the municipality of 5,300 inhabitants, of which Ribeira is a part.

The headquarters of the Arteza Cooperative in Ribeira, municipality of Cabeceiras, in the microregion of Cariri, with a long tradition of leather work. Credit: Carlos Müller / IPS

Solar energy, the driver

The cooperative’s success is largely due to solar energy. In 2018, it received equipment worth US$ 58,728 from the government of the state of Paraíba, where the municipality is located, with resources from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The savings obtained with the 170 panels installed were decisive.

“Solar energy was a milestone in our history. Today we would be paying 10,000 reais (US$ 1,755) in electricity bills in the tannery alone, and now it’s down to 600 reais (US$ 105). We were able to buy two new machines that allowed us to increase production and improve the quality of the hides,” Macio said.

There was no longer any need to increase the number of panels because when they were installed they were already double what was needed at the time. Today, with this energy, it would be possible to double production and process 40,000 hides.

The original plan was to install photovoltaic panels on the roof of the tannery, but the cooperative’s board of directors came up with a better idea: to build a new roof.

Thus, they increased the drying area for the hides and they seized the opportunity to collect water from the scarce rainfall for the water-consuming treatment of the hides. Apart from the economy, the old roof could only dry 300 skins. Under the solar panels it is possible to dry 2,500.

There is no unemployment in Ribeira, a community of 1,700 inhabitants in northeastern Brazil, says Ângelo Macio, president of Arteza cooperative. Credit: Carlos Müller / IPS

Tradition in leather

At the beginning, the 28 founding members of Arteza were supported by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae), a private entity financed through a compulsory contribution from the companies. There are now 78 partners, benefiting some 400 families.

The entire micro-region of Cariri, where the municipality is located, and especially Ribeira, have a long tradition of leather work.

Macio’s great-grandfather worked with leather, but his product was rustic and consisted mainly of coarse clothes, hats and work utensils used by the herders to navigate the caatinga, the predominant biome in the northeastern interior with many thorny plants.

The cooperative’s production evolved from traditional products due to the decline of extensive cattle raising and young people’s desire for more modern products. Today, work clothes account for some 10% of the total.

Currently, the flagship product are sandals, which account for about 60% of the total production, including wallets, women’s bags and backpacks, the most expensive product, which cost the equivalent of 150 dollars.

By joining the cooperative, artisans can buy inputs such as glue and tools, as well as leather at cost price. Those who are not members and have other suppliers pay 40% more on average. Members do not need to worry about sales: they hand over the product to the cooperative, which negotiates it with the traders.

When the cooperative receives the money from the sales, it deducts the value of the inputs that the members have withdrawn. In the end, they receive a 30% profit in average.

Some artisans, however, remain faithful to traditional products. This is the case of José Guimarães de Souza, who specialised in the production of quaint ‘horn hats’.

Zé, as everybody knows him, is not a member of the cooperative, although his workshop is 100 metres from it. He learned the trade from his father, whom he reveres with a photo next to a crucifix as if he were an icon. He buys the raw material and sells his hats through a local merchant.

The cooperatives’ products are sold in craft shops all over Brazil, especially in the cities of the Northeast, where the Arteza brand is already recognised. That is why, with Sebrae’s support, the cooperative is working to establish the products’ designation of origin with their own seal next year.

The Arteza cooperative in northeastern Brazil has built a new warehouse to expand the drying of hides and install 170 solar panels, enough to generate twice the energy currently consumed by the tannery. Credit: Carlos Müller / IPS

“Tomorrow, anything can happen…”

In front of Souza’s workshop, called ‘Zé’s Crafts – The King of the Horn Hat’, a graffiti catches the eye. It reads: “Don’t worry, everything can happen tomorrow, even nothing”. It is the first verse of a local folk song called “The nature of things”.

The tannery was processing 16,000 skins when the pandemic started, forcing the cooperative to suspend work for more than six months. It has now reached 20,000 units. The cooperative’s income grew by 70%, including leather and handicrafts.

“The pandemic’s impact was huge. We went almost to the bottom of the well,” Macio recalled. In late 2021, the cooperative started promoting its products through Instagram and other social media to sell online. At first, this type of sales amounted to 20% of the total. Today it reaches between 35% and 40%.

In Cariri there is not so much leather and the cooperative is forced to buy it from other states. Now the cooperative’s problem is finding raw materials and labour because everyone in the community, especially young people, is already employed.

“Handicrafts have been my survival. Through it I have raised my whole family without having to leave my beloved land”, said José Carlos Castro, a founding member and former president of the cooperative. He currently works in the tannery, doing heavy work: removing the hair and defective parts of the skins.

The “chapéus de chifre”, as the traditional horn hats are called, handcrafted by José Guimarães de Souza and displayed in his workshop, next to the Arteza Cooperative, in the Ribeira community. Credit: Carlos Müller / IPS

Sustainability

Arteza is the only tannery that works with natural products, such as the bark of anjico (Parapiptadenia rígida), a tree native to several South American countries. The tanning process lasts one month. If chemicals, such as chromium, were used, it would only take two days.

“We maintain a natural process to avoid environmental damage and harm to people. The natural process is in our DNA,” Macio explained. But difficulties arise. Existing trees in the region are not enough, although the cooperative avoids predatory consumption.

A few years ago, when the bark was removed, the tree died. Nowadays, the tree is cut down and sprouts again, and can be cut down again after five to six years. From what has been cut, the bark is removed, put through a shredder and placed in tanks with water where it releases the tannin.

When the tannin is gone, the bark is used as mulch for planting fodder palm, a type of cactus used for animal feed in the dry season.

The water is treated and disposed of in the wild and the shelled sticks of the anjicos are used for fencing.