The cooperative was founded in March 1987 with the mission of generating conditions for its members, female residents of Rocinha, to work from home and thereby increase their family budget without neglecting their childcare or domestic duties. Moreover, the Cooperative allow them to use and strengthen the traditional handicraft techniques mainly from the northeast of Brazil. The quality and uniqueness of Coopa Roca’s artisanal work has earned a high reputation in the fashion & design sectors in Brazil and abroad.

- all the stages of production including the cutting and assembling of production parts, manufacturing, modeling, research materials
- participation in several fashion and design events
- increased volume of production through “commercial partnerships”, with no need to maintain inventory and production levels directly aligned with that of the demand
- creation of a dedicated “REtalhar (Re-shape) exhibition”, which sets Coopa Roca into a large-scale production and bridged with the “commercial partnerships”:
- increased number of artisans and thus contribution to the sustainability of the cooperative.
- capacity to be inserted into competitive markets, domestically and internationally.(Carlos Miele, Osklen, Tord Boontje and Paul Smith)
- expansion from clothing into furniture and home décor

Pieces & volumns
- Unique art pieces, fashion pieces “couture”, customization of small or medium series of clothes, corporate uniforms or convention bags.
- For the art & design partnerships, small series or unique pieces (Lacroix, Lacoste…), which require a high technical and craft level and a lot of time to produce. For the fashion part, larger but still small series (10 to 12 pieces for Carlos Miele to 50 pieces for Osklen). And several hundred pieces for Motorola’s Corporate uniforms or C&A large diffusion series.
- At the beginning of June 2010, COOPA-ROCA launched a new business developing their own private collection label for wholesale,
targeting the national as well as the international markets for the
sale of its merchandise. They developed, produced, and showcased
products at a business fair for high-fashion buyers (Rio-à-Porter, the
business area of Fashion Rio).
Through further expansion of its market presence and the innovation of
its business model, COOPA-ROCA will provide more work
opportunities for a larger number of female artisans. This will allow
COOPA-ROCA to have a broader social impact on the favela community of Rocinha, in Rio de Janeiro. They have been working hard to build a
sustainable business model for a high-end and unique craftwork, to
expand product distribution channels, to increase job opportunities
for the Artisans, and ultimately to improve the living conditions of
the artisans and of their families.