São Sebastião

Chão Caiçara, in São Sebastião, preserves caiçara culture with Mestre Nicinho: handicrafts, stories and daily visits in Barequeçaba, in addition to a presence at Casa Caiçara in the Historic Center.

Chão Caiçara is one of São Sebastião's most organic and affectionate cultural initiatives — not a facility built top-down by public authorities, but an association born from the community itself, rooted in the knowledge of a caiçara family that makes memory an act of everyday resistance.

Origin and Identity
The soul of Chão Caiçara is Mestre Nicinho, an artisan, storyteller and a figure recognized as one of the great masters of São Sebastião's caiçara popular culture. Since the 1980s he has maintained the Nicinho Crafts Studio as a meeting point where time slows down — and it was from this studio that the Chão Caiçara Cultural Association emerged, formalized to extend the reach of what the family was already doing naturally.

The Headquarters in Barequeçaba
The association's headquarters is at Rodovia Manoel Hipólito do Rego, 778, Barequeçaba — built in the form of a traditional caiçara house, with pau-a-pique walls, a wood-burning stove, a mortar, a sugarcane mill and a collection of instruments and objects of caiçara material culture that make the space simultaneously a museum, a school and a living room. The space offers daily public visits, conversation circles and storytelling sessions regularly — on average once a week, led by Mestre Nicinho himself.

Presence in the Historic Center
In addition to the Barequeçaba headquarters, Chão Caiçara has a strong presence in the Rua da Praia Tourist Complex in the Historic Center, where it actively participates in the Casa Caiçara program — the space managed by FUNDASS that receives thousands of visitors throughout the year. Nicinho is a constant presence at Caiçara Day (March 15), at the Arraiá Caiçara, at the Caiçara Gastronomic Festival and in other celebrations that mark the city's cultural calendar. 

What to Expect
Storytelling with Mestre Nicinho — legends, anecdotes and memories from the northern coast

Caiçara handicrafts on display and for sale at the studio

Traditional cuisine at special events

Workshops on natural fiber weaving, ceramics and popular knowledge

Conversation circles on caiçara identity and culture

Contact Information

Headquarters: Rod. Manoel Hipólito do Rego, 778 — Barequeçaba, São Sebastião

Instagram: @chaocaicara.sp

Visits at the headquarters: Open to the public daily

Reference point in the Center: Casa Caiçara — Rua da Praia Tourist Complex

Horários de funcionamento

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