ExpoFeria Yataity Ao Po’i 2013 – Nov. 22 – Dec.1

Here’s a facebook ad I posted for the Expoferia Yataity Ao Po’i – October 24, 2013.  I posted these on a regular basis in the weeks leading up to the fair, held November 22 – December 1st.

The committee for our annual fair needed help with publicity, so I worked with our ladies to plan the marketing for our event.  They had formed a facebook page for the fair, but were unsure of what to do next.  We worked together and made a game plan.  I demonstrated to them and wrote a 30-second and 60-second spot for the radio, then emailed every radio station in the Department of Guaira.  Then, arranged for radio interviews in Villarrica and had a good time trying to sound like I knew how to speak Spanish well enough to be broadcast!  Later, there was quite a bit more radio and tv publicity.

To help them learn more about marketing methods they can use in the coming years, I wrote publicity pieces like the one below, working with several committee members to demonstrate the process, and we made sure the translations were correct and that things were described accurately.  We received lots of good responses from our marketing!

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Usted puede sentir la creatividad que nos rodean como nuestras artisanas afanosamente preparan para el gran evento…Expoferia Yataity Ao Po’i 2013. ¿Ya sabes acerca de estos productos hechos a mano? Si no, es aquí una pequeña explicación para presentarle este hermosa arte.

¿Qúe es el ao po´i? “Ao” significa tela o ropa en Guaraní y “po´i” significa fino o delgado.

Sin acceso a telas importadas las mujeres paraguayas tuvieron que fabricar sus propias telas desde cero, hilando el algodón crudo, haciendo la tela en el telar y luego decorándolo con bordados.

Hoy en día la mayoría de la tela de ao po´i se hace a máquina pero sigue siendo confeccionado y bordado a mano. Todavía existen algunas artesanas que mantienen la tradición de hacer todo el proceso a mano. Asegurate de visitar el puesto de la “Tejedora del Poyvi” (poyvi = hilo hecho a mano) para ver el ao po´i auténtico.

El tejido fino y contenido de 100% algodón hacen que la ropa de ao po´i sea ideal para el calor paraguayo y el calor en los otros países!

Tal vez ahora es un buen momento para comprar sus regalos de Navidad… Haz tus planes para venir a la expoferia!

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You can feel the creativity all around town as our artesanas prepare for the big event…Expoferia Yataity Ao Po’i 2013, which is coming soon. Do you already know about these handmade products? If not, here is a little explanation to introduce you to this perfectly beautiful craft.

What is ao po’i? “Ao” (pronounced “ow”) means cloth or clothing in Guaraní and “po´i”(pronounced “poe – e”) means fine or thin.

Without access to imported cloth Paraguayan women had to make their own fabric starting with raw cotton which was spun into thread, woven into cloth and later decorated with embroidery.

Nowadays much ao po´i cloth is made by machine but still hand sewn and embroidered. There remain a few artesanas who do the entire process by hand. Be sure to visit the “Tejedora del Poyvi” (poyvi = handmade thread) stand in the Expo to see truly authentic ao po´i.

The fine weave and 100% cotton content make ao po´i clothing ideal for the Paraguayan heat and the hot weather in other countries.

Perhaps now is a good time to purchase your Christmas gifts…Make your plans to come to the Expoferia!