Handicrafts Definition
These can be defined as products which are produced either completely by hand or with the help of tools. Mechanical tools may
be used as long as the direct manual contribution of the artisan remains the most substantial component to the finished product.
(Adapted from the definition for crafts/artisan products at the UNESCO/ITC International Symposium on “Crafts and the
International Market: Trade and Customs Codification”, Manila, Philippines, October 1997)
Handicrafts are made from natural raw materials and can be produced in unlimited numbers. Such products can be utilitarian,
aesthetic, artistic, creative, culturally attached, decorative, functional, traditional, religiously and socially symbolic and significant.
The ASEPHI “INACRAFT Awards” will be granted only to handicrafts produced from one or combination of natural materials and the
products submitted are taken from the products display by exhibitors of INACRAFT chosen by the Judges (jury) and the same
opportunity to all exhibitors to submit by their own based on terms and conditions. Following is a list of some of the natural
materials from which products can be made. This list is provided as a guide for producers and is by no means exhaustive:
- TEXTILES (e.g. cotton, silk, linen)
- NATURAL
- FIBERS (e.g. bamboo, vetiver, grass, rattan
- CERAMICS (e.g. clay, earthenware, pottery, stoneware, porcelain)
- WOOD (including paper and lacquer ware)
- METAL (e.g. silver, gold, bronze, iron, pewter)
- STONE (e.g. precious, semi-precious, jades)
- OTHERS
- MATERIALS not included in the above. They are two sub-categories:
- Other Natural resources (e.g. animal hide, shell, horn, bone, etc)
- Composite Materials (e.g. Acrylic Glass, Polycarbonate, etc)
- Recycle And Or Upcycle