Legal status

The Tunisian National Crafts Office is a non-administrative public company under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts.

Missions

The National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts has the main mission of implementing the state's strategy for the preservation and development of the Tunisian handicraft sector, including:

  1. Providing support to artisans and handicraft businesses through the establishment of regional structures that offer technical and administrative assistance.
  2. Developing professional skills within the handicraft sector.
  3. Promoting Tunisian handicrafts and facilitating the commercialization of artisanal products in domestic and international markets, as well as assisting handicraft businesses in adapting to market requirements, new information and communication technologies, and international competition.
  4. Promoting investment and supporting job creation within the handicraft sector.
  5. Promoting innovation and creativity and formulating policies for the preservation and safeguarding of artisanal heritage.
  6. Promoting and improving quality by implementing a standardization and certification system, as well as technical quality control for artisanal products intended for the local and export markets.
  7. Developing international cooperation to implement programs that contribute to the sector's development.
  8. Participating in the design and development of infrastructure to support handicraft development, such as artisan villages in all governorates.
  9. Developing programs for the development of the handicraft sector and conducting all relevant studies pertaining to the handicraft sector.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

BEFORE ONAT

Artisanal activity, before the Protectorate, was organized under the auspices of a social structure known as corporations or trade guilds. These constituted a form of organization for urban craftsmanship and commerce, in which each trade had a collective monopoly over specialization, apprenticeship, production, and consumption.

However, the emergence of industrial lifestyle and changes in consumption patterns significantly disrupted the traditional urban economy of Tunisia.

Faced with the impoverishment of Tunisian handicrafts and the numerous demands of artisans, the authorities of that time reacted by adopting several initiatives:

In 1923, the creation of the Office of Vocational Education led to the establishment of several artisan centers. The Office of Vocational Education, later known as the Service of Artisanal Education and Tunisian Trades and Crafts (in the 1930s), was followed by the creation of the Office of Tunisian Arts. The Tunisian Standardization Office (OTUS), and starting from 1945, the Service of Trades and Arts, were responsible for product certification.

In 1953, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Commerce counted 28,213 artisanal enterprises across Tunisia (approximately 100,000 people).

CREATION OF ONAT

With independence and recognizing the importance of the handicraft sector in the economic and social life of the country, the national authorities established the National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts. This office was tasked with overcoming obstacles and resolving contradictions that hindered the proper functioning of the sector, with the ambition of a return to authenticity and the affirmation of Tunisian identity.

The National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts was established by Law No. 59-133 on October 14, 1959, and amended and supplemented by Decree-Law No. 65-1 on February 15, 1965. According to this law, the Office is a public establishment with commercial and industrial characteristics, possessing legal personality and financial autonomy.

ONAT ACTIVITY FROM 1960 TO 1989

The activities of the National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts (ONAT) were defined by Article 2 of the aforementioned law as follows:

"Since its creation, ONAT has been primarily concerned with preserving ancient techniques that are at risk of disappearing, selecting and renovating traditional techniques, while increasingly focusing on artisanal training and improving commercialization."

Initially, ONAT produced and marketed its own products, with public service missions that, although not achieving the expected impact on the sector, mostly benefited the organization itself.

The development of ONAT's production and the impact of its activities as a public service entity supporting the handicraft sector indirectly led to the proliferation of private producers. This prompted a necessary reflection on:

  1. The mission of ONAT as both an overseeing entity of the sector and a production entity.
  2. The competition between the production and commercialization of artisanal products, with private producers during a phase where economic options were leaning towards privatization.

Hence, the idea of separating these two missions arose, leading to the restructuring of ONA (National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts).

Restructuring of ONAT in 1990

On the basis of the work of the commissions responsible for this restructuring, the Restricted Ministerial Council of January 2, 1990, initiated the final process of restructuring ONAT.

FROM 1990 to 1996

The restructuring of ONAT consisted of the following:

  1. Maintaining an office responsible for overseeing and promoting both the public and private sectors.
  2. Establishing two subsidiary companies of ONAT: one responsible for production (SOPART) and the other for the procurement and commercialization of artisanal products (SOCOPA), both for ONAT's own account and on behalf of third parties.

Since 1996, ONAT has changed its status from a public establishment with industrial and commercial characteristics (EPIC) to a public establishment with non-administrative characteristics (EPNA). As a result, the office first disengaged from production activities and then from commercialization activities in order to focus on developing the sector and providing support to private operators.

50 YEARS of ONAT

On October 14, 2009, the National Office of Tunisian Handicrafts (ONAT) celebrated its 50th anniversary. Summarizing its history means recounting the development of handicrafts, which is characterized by richness, diversity, and above all, passion, creativity, and the desire to transmit ancestral know-how.

Going back in time, reliving the significant moments that made ONAT a national and international reference in the field of handicrafts, immersing oneself in the works of artisans and creators—this is the journey proposed in this narrative of five decades filled with achievements.