tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77719865185157493192024-02-06T20:42:25.372-08:00Thoughtful TransactionsOn September 17, Simon, Alison and I left for our grand adventure. I have been granted a one year sabbatical from my job at Global Gifts, during which time we have rented out our house and moved to Lima, Peru.Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-44518206260676132792012-11-21T08:28:00.000-08:002012-11-21T08:28:19.730-08:00<br />
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Ode to a Sabbatical<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>I wrote this post
sometime back in September but it never made it onto my blog. With the recent <a href="http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/shopping-with-a-conscience-at-global-gifts/Content?oid=2511907#.UK0A14czPps" target="_blank">article from NUVO</a>, I thought
it would be appropriate for me to go ahead and make this post and give this
blog some closure. One note, the “ode”
started in jest. And though I doubt it
technically meets the standard of an ode, the experience of a sabbatical is
certainly worthy of an ode </i><i><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> Thanks to all who have followed this blog and
for the many supportive comments I have received.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Our time in Peru has been a gift. The experience of living in another culture,
of learning a new language, of having
meaningful time as a family and spending lots of one-on-one time with Simon,
and further connecting with the people and mission behind fair trade was
certainly as much as I could have hoped for.
I return to the US energized, invigorated, brimming with ideas and
enthusiasm for Global Gifts' future growth and impact, and as relaxed as I have
felt in a long time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Oh sabbatical, a gift you have been to
me! <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>May I repay you with fulfillment of the
ideas and passion you have instilled<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>And with at least a continual reminder<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>That the harried and rushed life full of
deadlines and impatience <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Has a more relaxed and peaceful
counterpoint.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Slowing down. About
13 years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a year in Northern Ireland
and attend graduate school there. When I
returned to the US there was a cheerful, relaxed, and more present me that I
hardly recognized. I was delighted and
surprised to find this new me upon my return.
But within a couple of weeks, a fear, almost a panic came over me as
that high began to wear off. I hadn’t
expected to feel that way when I came home, and then I hadn’t expected those
feelings to slip away as they did.
Before long I was once again fidgeting while waiting in lines at the
checkout counter, racing through yellow (sometimes red) lights, and hardly
concentrating on the moment or person in front of me due to worry and planning
about the next. I recognized that the
high I was on was fading fast, and yet, there was little I could do to maintain
a bit of that more relaxed feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is my hope and even my belief, that this time will be
different. I return from Peru older,
hopefully wiser, with more direction and support, and with the knowledge of my
Northern Ireland experience with me. This
time I can recognize the high for what it is and enjoy it while it lasts. At the same time I can hold reasonable
expectations and be more deliberate about holding onto that pleasant sense of
relaxation and enthusiasm that I bring home from my sabbatical in Peru. More than anything I want to remember to
enjoy and be present in the moment at hand and concentrate just a bit less on
what lies ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My experience with Northern Ireland is one time of my life
that currently sticks in my mind. But
there is another life changing event that I also relate to. That is the time when I first started working
at Global Gifts some 12 years ago. After
my sabbatical I feel the same sense of adventure, creative energy, and the
beginning of something new that I felt when I first started working at Global
Gifts. I couldn’t be more excited about
what lies ahead for our organization and the wonderful staff, volunteers, and
board members who make Global Gifts a daily reality. I also return with a renewed sense of mission
and the connection I feel to artisans in Peru like Fermin Vilcapoma, Daniel
Novoa, Rosa Pariona, and others which extends beyond Peru to those artisans
Global Gifts partners with in over 40 countries. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So I leave you and this blog with a repeat of these lines, “Oh
sabbatical, a gift you have been to me! May
I repay you with fulfillment of the ideas and passion you have instilled . . .”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-48585900985539533932012-07-09T19:14:00.000-07:002012-07-09T19:14:04.634-07:00mates burilados - painting with fire<br />
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Peru is a land of artesania and handcrafts. I don’t know the validity of the statement
but I read today that nearly 50% of Peruvians earn at least some income through
the sale of handcrafts. When you look at
the vast variety of Peruvian crafts and the sheer multitude of artisan puestos
(small booths that sell handcrafts in area markets for both tourists and
locals) the idea of a large percentage of Peruvians being at least partially
involved with handcraft sales doesn’t seem so surprising.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This concept was illustrated for Alison and me on a recent
trip to Huancayo, Peru. Near Huancayo we
visited the small town of Cochas Chico which is a community made up mostly of artisans
dedicated to the art of mates burilados or gourd art. Mates burilados is the art of decorating
gourds through etching, burning, and painting.
The art in this community has dated back through many generations and has a Peruvian history reaching into the thousands of years.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A variety of gourd art is represented here.</i></span></td></tr>
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Cochas Chico is a small village set in the mountains. Alison and I enjoyed seeing this area of Peru that is so set aside from the fast paced, crowded, and polluted Lima that we are accustomed to. Our visit one afternoon went into the evening and we were able to see the brilliantly lit starry sky that has been a rare view during our time in Peru. A highlight of the trip for Simon and me was a trip to parque de mates burilados, a park dedicated to the art of gourd design. It was clear that this park, so remotely located, was a source of community pride.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A photo within the park which includes the surrounding hillside.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Giant statues of carved gourds filled the park which was connected with a wooden elevated walkway made of what looked like trees, branches, and vines.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Simon particularly liked the "two owls" and repeated the phrase over and over. "Owls" and "two" are some of his favorite things!</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Simon and I did a self take on the bridge that leads to the giant bird/gourd in the background.</i></span></td></tr>
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While in Cochas Chico, we vistied Alejandro Hurtado. He comes from a family of gourd artisans. Both of his brothers also live in Cochas Chico and have their own workshops dedicated to mates burilados. They help each other out when they have big orders. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Alejandro's father died when he was 3 years old. Three months later his mother remarried but left him and his brothers and sisters alone. The oldest brother, Emilio, was 13 at the time and it became his job to look after his brothers and sister. Emilio was the oldest and Alejandro the youngest. <br />
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As a young child Alejandro had to work in the fields to help support himself and the family. However by the time he was 8 he was skilled in mate burilado. His older brother Emilio learned the trade working in another workshop, mostly paid with meals, and taught it to his siblings. His mother had also worked with gourds and gourds were his toys growing up as a child. Alejandro worked in other people's workshops making gourds for over 15 years. In 1984 he opened his own workshop. He entered a contest in 1997 and his art won first place. Because of that, he started to win new contacts and orders. <br />
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Now he and his wife Victoria have a successful workshop. They have faced challenges over the years. They took a huge step backwards during the terrorism years that impacted all of Peru in the 1990's. They had to work in the fields for several years until 1995 to make ends meet. But now they are content with their work as gourd artisans. Alejandro and Victoria joke that they represent compromise and peace because she comes from Cochas Grande, another town dedicated to the art of mates burilado that is at times seen as a rival. They are proud to produce excellent gourds representing these two towns working together.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>It was wonderful being in the countryside. Victoria introduced Simon to two of her lambs.</i></span></td></tr>
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The process of decorating the gourds is fascinating. Painting with fire, as Alison describes it, is an apt description of how the gourds are decorated. Most artists first etch a design on the
gourd with pencil. They then use a
carving tool to etch the design into the gourd.
However, in one case we did see an artisan who carved freehand without
first drawing the design with pencil.
The next step is to burn color into the gourd. Based on the intensity of the heat, the gourds which aren't actually painted with bright colors, will be varying shades of brown or black.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Alejandro shows his warehouse of gourds. Different gourds come from varying regions of Peru and serve as the base of different pieces</i></span>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Cats keep an eye on the gourds and protect them from pests.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Some gourds are colored before the design phase begins. These gourds of red and green often are made into Christmas ornaments.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Victoria skillfully carves a design into a gourd which when completed will serve as a birdhouse.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Varying shades of brown and black are burnt into the gourd using a precise and concentrated flame. Alejandro kept a steady hand and used the flame as a paintbrush to achieve these designs. A more tradional method of burning the design is to pull a pointed stick from a fire and use the burning coal to paint the design. By blowing on the coal the artisan can control the level of heat that passes to the gourd. We saw this method demonstrated as well but the tool above works with much greater efficiency.</i></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOWjaj8u9Dm0CFY22I89TvVh-8dqY7zifnuYp42yd5QU0nR5wzCvezWpP3ubmoZ1KThcx6ZwE3LCVH1AFffauPYCJpcj_0fVUiPMDX1hwcPdRaGtKgFeb4jwwEwXWfqF9Q6HCVmTW1l4/s1600/DSCN2802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOWjaj8u9Dm0CFY22I89TvVh-8dqY7zifnuYp42yd5QU0nR5wzCvezWpP3ubmoZ1KThcx6ZwE3LCVH1AFffauPYCJpcj_0fVUiPMDX1hwcPdRaGtKgFeb4jwwEwXWfqF9Q6HCVmTW1l4/s640/DSCN2802.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryFWEJFsB19ukluKYf4Vk8Y8daQ1-RcEtRilI2Pec-HIyyEfGIIbeH11fmHqO_F7YzzF6J0X1tHrjVmSHQXszdmAiuI2wIKVHGF2_T96Dqy9D5cs5qQcmyDdOSGONFD-7CkfJsCUdYtc/s1600/DSCN2816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryFWEJFsB19ukluKYf4Vk8Y8daQ1-RcEtRilI2Pec-HIyyEfGIIbeH11fmHqO_F7YzzF6J0X1tHrjVmSHQXszdmAiuI2wIKVHGF2_T96Dqy9D5cs5qQcmyDdOSGONFD-7CkfJsCUdYtc/s400/DSCN2816.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Alejandro and Victoria pose with their items in varying stages of production.</i></span></td></tr>
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Carved gourds have long been a popular item we carry at Global Gifts. I am glad I had the chance to visit Cochas Chico and see the process and meet the people behind this art.</div>
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<br /></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-37937677740359466522012-06-15T19:40:00.000-07:002012-06-15T19:40:54.740-07:00World Fair Trade Day<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Very few people in Peru know about fair trade. So it was great to see fair trade
organizations in Lima come together on World Fair Trade Day to celebrate the
event. Despite some competition and
tension between these organizations, they came together under the banner of the
World Fair Trade Organization and set up a booth at a small business fair to
raise awareness about fair trade. Alison
and I did a shift at the booth for several hours and spoke with many people. To my knowledge, no one we spoke with knew about
fair trade before we spoke with them. Twelve
years ago, when I began working in fair trade in the US, the experience was
similar (though not to the same degree).
Very few people then had heard of the concept or term fair trade. Although I don’t have statistics at hand to
share, the recognition in the US has grown substantially through education and
an expansion of fair trade products available in the market. Perhaps Peru will have a similar experience.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7XxzyglLmQMo6_DlNoMG7w6Be7CtCbR05Ku7ipDB3nZGB0zUyZpfllRdQErKdQ34h7sJOGOwfkEjsvDcnuSchbq4nJwYxC-qZJw-EFLROqrrAAwIRz8EoiQjx-PF5Zwqw6OFVfIH3pc/s1600/DSCN1788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7XxzyglLmQMo6_DlNoMG7w6Be7CtCbR05Ku7ipDB3nZGB0zUyZpfllRdQErKdQ34h7sJOGOwfkEjsvDcnuSchbq4nJwYxC-qZJw-EFLROqrrAAwIRz8EoiQjx-PF5Zwqw6OFVfIH3pc/s400/DSCN1788.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Here is our booth. Organizations represented at the booth were Raymisa, Manos Amigas, CIAP, Minka, Allpa, and Aptec.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZiNYF5_YdZIentsbZ2fhYPrXr-MweRvrPysiSBvfT7ijGyzVcXjfW71t7hwfaUQ70SsDPHhpdq2OAdhKozs7Lp-d4fCkAZ5fjjFcnPZLITO32zoDRVmCLjfbBqFDX2x0ki539rm5oI4/s1600/DSCN1790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZiNYF5_YdZIentsbZ2fhYPrXr-MweRvrPysiSBvfT7ijGyzVcXjfW71t7hwfaUQ70SsDPHhpdq2OAdhKozs7Lp-d4fCkAZ5fjjFcnPZLITO32zoDRVmCLjfbBqFDX2x0ki539rm5oI4/s400/DSCN1790.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Alison's Spanish is much better than mine. She did most of the talking although after hearing her enough times I gave it a try as well.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rhWtx_zWNlSFdtL-LTm2_pCtgpa1TsATRVWNhBn4JaU3xY4Uqp90bZk6XQiEoLo3F7kcvQmkdVOVefwBWrxwE92FuknVoh6tBij5Im0O1_Rf1hBik1NTFQE2g4kTi8KBKxR3wkqtqps/s1600/DSCN1795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rhWtx_zWNlSFdtL-LTm2_pCtgpa1TsATRVWNhBn4JaU3xY4Uqp90bZk6XQiEoLo3F7kcvQmkdVOVefwBWrxwE92FuknVoh6tBij5Im0O1_Rf1hBik1NTFQE2g4kTi8KBKxR3wkqtqps/s400/DSCN1795.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>While Simon was sleeping, I chatted with Fermin, a jewelry artisan who is also helping to organize Aptec, an artisan-led fair trade organization.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Yannina at Manos Amigas is excited to educate about fair
trade. To celebrate World Fair Trade
Day, she also arranged for Alison and I to give presentations in one of the area
schools. Yannina was especially excited
because she had been a student at this school and was pleased to be returning as an
adult and sharing about her life’s work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I spoke to a class of about 30 high school students with
assistance from Yannina and Alison spoke to another class of 30 high schoolers with
the assistance of <a href="http://thoughtfultransactions.blogspot.com/2012/05/rosa-pariona.html" target="_blank">Rosa</a>, one of the artisans Manos Amigas works with. In both cases, none of the kids had heard of
fair trade before our presentations. I led
my class through an activity that is part of a fair trade curriculum created not
only by another high school student but also a Global Gifts volunteer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Me giving my presentation</i></span>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXU2JQvR2HUzO3YVvdqQsDsr4sr3geaXGBZWl0h4fpxVrf-GORIP5eHV5ZMlP7baOa-7cXxIAept5MVe-wlOAlJcONQVGHoAvYiJkG5RzHPUE4uzV6BABzlZK_7IdGePQdcwsIj8iGxE/s1600/DSCN1900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXU2JQvR2HUzO3YVvdqQsDsr4sr3geaXGBZWl0h4fpxVrf-GORIP5eHV5ZMlP7baOa-7cXxIAept5MVe-wlOAlJcONQVGHoAvYiJkG5RzHPUE4uzV6BABzlZK_7IdGePQdcwsIj8iGxE/s400/DSCN1900.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The class broke into small groups and each group was responsible for making an item using only the materials they could purchase from me. I charged a lot for the materials and offered very little for their products. "Hey, that's not fair!" was the comment I heard that served as a starting point for a discussion about fair trade. I was truly impressed with what these kids came up with using a cardboard box, tape, scissors, markers, and a few sheets of paper.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Alison and Rosa in the school courtyard after their presentation.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It was a great experience and I think the kids in the class really came away with an understanding of what fair trade is about. Yannina was excited enough to suggest that maybe next year we could do something with another school in Lima but with my and Alison’s involvement being over Skype. It’s a big challenge, but poco a poco (little by little) awareness of fair trade is being raised throughout the world. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-36107503981492908762012-05-19T11:04:00.000-07:002012-05-19T11:04:00.754-07:00Rosa Pariona<br />
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Rosa Pariona produces small stuffed animals, typical of Peru, made from
different types of wool: alpaca and sheep, for example. The animals are common
Peruvian animals like guinea pigs, vicuñas, llamas, rabbits, and chicks. She
also makes hats and gloves, throw rugs, and seat cushions from the same wool.
“Anything that can be made from wool and skins, I make. I can sew anything!” Her most popular product is the vicuñas. She has had her workshop since
1984.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKYr8MUtY8SXnB3CGoqlv9i_Pjrp0qu80wFO6oVDCf2JGEqFUGMvvHszdrbO2of6Kk5ZLKIkmuFKj4NkfJubwz1JuCCAEQDKCJwXMZiLfDhMA-aPrXqJCTpKHzlHvwKDA6JAiT7N3eZ0/s1600/Rosa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKYr8MUtY8SXnB3CGoqlv9i_Pjrp0qu80wFO6oVDCf2JGEqFUGMvvHszdrbO2of6Kk5ZLKIkmuFKj4NkfJubwz1JuCCAEQDKCJwXMZiLfDhMA-aPrXqJCTpKHzlHvwKDA6JAiT7N3eZ0/s640/Rosa1.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Rosa is from Huancayo, a city in the mountains approximately 8 hours
from Lima. She never knew her mother; she and her two sisters were raised by
her father. One sister now lives in Lima, the other in Italy. Rosa learned all
of her <i>artesanía </i>skills from her father, who, she says, knew how to make
nearly anything. “He didn’t make large quantities of products but rather made
many different types of products, all beautiful. In addition to making bags,
clothing, rings, hats, he was skilled in carpentry and also built houses. He
really knew how to work!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She married and had nine children. Rosa’s husband began to drink
heavily and treat her very badly, including selling their comfortable, 2-story
home in Huancayo without telling her and without giving her any of the proceeds
from the sale. She realized she had to leave.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She had land where she grew vegetables <i>(</i>the <i>chacra)</i>,
apart from their home in Huancayo. “When he started to drink and treat me
badly, I thought, where am I going to go? Am I going to go to the <i>chacra</i>?
No, because the kids didn’t know how to farm. I have to go to Lima for the
opportunities.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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She left with her nine children, ranging in age from 5 to 15. They left
with just the clothes on their backs, without even money. They slept on
cardboard “beds” on the floor of an empty house for three months near the
center of Lima. She sold drinks and ice cream, anything she could sell to begin
saving a little money. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Pictured
inside Rosa’s workshop left to right, Rosa’s husband, son, daughter and Rosa</i></span></div>
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Soon, however, Rosa realized she needed to move her family. There was a
lot of unsafe behavior near their home, and her kids were frightened. A friend told her that in Huaycán, on the
outskirts of the district of Lima, there was available land. Rosa commented, “I like the climate here.
There is always sun in Huaycán, it never rains. It’s good for drying out the
skins.” So they moved to Huaycán and
spent one year living on the hillside, a place where the poorest of the poor
make their homes. The hillsides rarely have access to utilities and life is a
barebones existence.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">She had slowly
started to construct their house; they had a roof but no walls. An earthquake
caused her neighbor’s house</span> to fall onto hers. It destroyed their home
and almost buried them there too. While they went to the clinic to have their
injuries examined and treated, all of their belongings were stolen. She had to
start over, yet again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rosa’s big break was when a buyer from Ten Thousand Villages ordered
10,000 stuffed alpacas and gave her a $5,000 advance. “With that money I was
able to buy land in Huaycán and start building our own home. He took a chance
on me, giving me that money without really knowing me. I was really grateful.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqeeEmQcv2WDQ4MnDyO5LcPmx2zKtmwCO1ciaWicJab3Epeq4dd0Ith_vGkIx1gZEAUU8zCPig8RVwCRNksLG0YH5e-N219tDxVrwXA2CSzjBajpIYSax4Sbo68G1fa_mtTBetWHw-qrg/s1600/rosa4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqeeEmQcv2WDQ4MnDyO5LcPmx2zKtmwCO1ciaWicJab3Epeq4dd0Ith_vGkIx1gZEAUU8zCPig8RVwCRNksLG0YH5e-N219tDxVrwXA2CSzjBajpIYSax4Sbo68G1fa_mtTBetWHw-qrg/s400/rosa4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-mkgv5OjUV2lwulKbo2JLiZwpKjIDuWFtxLlyN0t9xKSMGfaoD0JQ3M7XlmjI-YJO20DlJAEAellAuVkDSDuyfOws4bsH0LF5bjenFtoCr1lp51UE7p8_02MSMtAFVzzmLh-OfeIRe4/s1600/rosa3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-mkgv5OjUV2lwulKbo2JLiZwpKjIDuWFtxLlyN0t9xKSMGfaoD0JQ3M7XlmjI-YJO20DlJAEAellAuVkDSDuyfOws4bsH0LF5bjenFtoCr1lp51UE7p8_02MSMtAFVzzmLh-OfeIRe4/s320/rosa3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rosa pictured in the storefront area of her workshop along with some of her best selling alpaca items.</span></i></div>
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Her son Enrique built the workshop for her. The front room is a small
store, showcasing the artesanía produced inside as well as selling soft drinks
and water to neighbors. Rosa commented, “He deliberately made the front room
with a curved wall so that a large window could be placed there, bringing in a
lot of light to the store to more beautifully display our products.”<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEUkMmKSJDnAaSA63dHTalgIe-R_dR8ulMLb9OOb9LXMlmElgDnYFlAt08n5Sm8Gk3ZJ4nHgevRkzJnaYoL_xRDSaC4e7ufwRvt2_bVdhSL3P16l1v0ZVYwcAuv1WznzN9Cv9PXZwMgY/s1600/rosa6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKEUkMmKSJDnAaSA63dHTalgIe-R_dR8ulMLb9OOb9LXMlmElgDnYFlAt08n5Sm8Gk3ZJ4nHgevRkzJnaYoL_xRDSaC4e7ufwRvt2_bVdhSL3P16l1v0ZVYwcAuv1WznzN9Cv9PXZwMgY/s320/rosa6.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEdKVwHdqJaj_2qwT-d0LoxKWbcH0mTOCwiUSueWEKjQn5L59mvjnLtkiK12i2hZbE_XHw8l7uJbcyajHTAm9wFbTb65JrerQmJXRI8jv2XIyeUe6N_34eKd3t2J1fVOAlz1zd9rm9hI/s1600/rosa7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFEdKVwHdqJaj_2qwT-d0LoxKWbcH0mTOCwiUSueWEKjQn5L59mvjnLtkiK12i2hZbE_XHw8l7uJbcyajHTAm9wFbTb65JrerQmJXRI8jv2XIyeUe6N_34eKd3t2J1fVOAlz1zd9rm9hI/s320/rosa7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i> Rosa is quite a businesswoman.
She makes the most of her storefront where she sells different types of
artesanía: her own products and those of her children. She also sells drinks, snacks, has a payphone
that is accessible from outside her shop 24 hours a day and makes copies of
documents for a small fee.</i></div>
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Rosa later remarried, had two more children, and her husband now works
with her in the business. She designs all of her products and has taught her
husband the skills needed to work in the workshop. She likes everything about
running her business, from the drying of the skins to the sewing and stuffing;
even the quality control. “While it takes a lot of time to do quality control
and correct items when necessary, it is expensive to have others do it and it
isn’t done as well.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She currently has 9 workers, in addition to herself: three are family
members (her husband and two of her oldest children). The six others perform
their work in their homes, coming and going from the workshop as needed to pick
up materials and drop off completed products. The workers are evenly split
between men and women.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we visited, everyone was working on an order for Manos Amigas, to
be sent to Ten Thousand Villages, of 1,000 small stuffed vicuñas and 300 larger
stuffed alpaca dolls. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She explained the process: they buy the skins, clean them, then dry
them. After they are dried, they draw the design on the skin and sew the animal
together. They stuff the animal and comb the outside wool. Depending on the
preferences of the client, they either use the natural color of the vicuñas or
they dye parts of the vicuña.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While she has always been involved in <i>artesanía </i>in one form or
another, before starting her own business she made little bags, jackets, socks.
She also spent a lot of time in her <i>chacra</i>, tending to her crops. “I
have worked so hard to provide my kids with food and clothes and an education.”
<o:p></o:p></div>
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All of her children are artisans and are skilled in various forms of <i>artesanía</i>
in addition to working with leather and wool. Some carve wood, others carve
gourds or make beaded jewelry. Even her youngest, a 15 year old who is still in
school, is skilled at <i>artesanía</i>, making beaded bracelets. Rosa is proud
that they each can support themselves with these skills from her family.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her orders have lowered since the economic crisis started. Whereas she
used to produce 15,000 vicuñas per year for clients, she now receives orders
for approximately 6,000 vicuñas annually. When she doesn’t have many orders,
she augments her income by preparing typical Peruvian food to sell such as <i>cuy</i>
(guinea pig) and <i>pachamanca</i> (a dish of meats and potatoes, cooked
underground). She rents a kiosk nearby when she has food to sell. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A local parish often has international visitors who come and place
orders after seeing her products in her store. These are smaller orders, though,
dozens of products instead of thousands. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She explained that she doesn’t have a store in Miraflores, the main
neighborhood in Lima that tourists visit, due to the high costs involved. “How
am I going to survive if I have to pay out all that money? People come and make
small orders from our store here. And every few months I receive an order from
Manos Amigas for about 2,000-3,000 vicuñas. I appreciate that Manos Amigas
immediately pays me, since then I can go back and immediately pay my workers.
They always give me an advance, too, without asking.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Manos Amigas is her primary client. Rosa appreciates that Manos Amigas
treats her well and always fulfills their promises. They are very prompt with
their communications. “They are part of my family,” she says. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rosa can point to very specific ways that her life has changed and
improved since she has worked with Manos Amigas. Going from sleeping on
cardboard boxes with nine children, with no support from her ex-husband, to
building a home and workshop, running a successful business and ensuring that
all her children were educated as well as learning the family trade, even after
having had to restart from scratch several times… Rosa is resilient! <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyg_Z592RGckLbVR3IXw3HwcYBRFRIaW28iruYzjox2XdibLjoH2ERaxF1j8fiOOiRQ8bXLWhI2AI9Ph_PKpHxfhWb8RnYIhyphenhypheneSYMLhFdmvNhqzPSBQBVV2srJz3q5DDwMhNG9uCyNZI/s1600/DSCN2606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyg_Z592RGckLbVR3IXw3HwcYBRFRIaW28iruYzjox2XdibLjoH2ERaxF1j8fiOOiRQ8bXLWhI2AI9Ph_PKpHxfhWb8RnYIhyphenhypheneSYMLhFdmvNhqzPSBQBVV2srJz3q5DDwMhNG9uCyNZI/s320/DSCN2606.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JuT7eQKE0esOUq8aFL4cx0KTQtpeanVoAwuaFfa612aRC7WgAyN3hAk9c4mWDIKqCjjvVHhfhyphenhyphenPI6q4LvxNYGFfGt7BG1Yv5bkRzazKqPb9lKtg6baFQJYicTtnR2xNnjo42pcTuuxo/s1600/DSCN2608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JuT7eQKE0esOUq8aFL4cx0KTQtpeanVoAwuaFfa612aRC7WgAyN3hAk9c4mWDIKqCjjvVHhfhyphenhyphenPI6q4LvxNYGFfGt7BG1Yv5bkRzazKqPb9lKtg6baFQJYicTtnR2xNnjo42pcTuuxo/s320/DSCN2608.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Rosa's son built her storefront, workshop, and home (all-in-one) which is pictured above. She has certainly come a long way from the cardboard boxes she slept on with her children when she first moved to Lima.</i><br />
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<i>Rosa generously presented Simon with a small stuffed vicuna as a gift during our visit.</i></div>
<i><br /></i></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-21167176185136102782012-05-19T10:54:00.001-07:002012-05-19T10:54:38.497-07:00Rafael del Campo<span style="font-family: inherit;">Alison’s and my primary responsibility with Manos Amigas
these days is visiting artisans, photographing them in their workshops, and
writing their stories. One recent visit
was with Rafael del Campo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I am a painter, drawer, sculptor, and artisan,” Rafael del
Campo says when I ask what type of artesanía he produces. “Currently, I produce
decorative objects.” At present, his most popular product is nativities. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxKTMVqXnm_fbY-MTi74RlQ_AO_wXQ55rXVzzvbdq2E-Ngl1y2p-nlmiMf8SbjXtTeUl5EA-v22tK6RKRTNCCDVY627kpmP6jFaOG3n32nMVW0-iaFtU2TaEnxpSU0cauf7RaVdVTa28/s1600/rafael1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxKTMVqXnm_fbY-MTi74RlQ_AO_wXQ55rXVzzvbdq2E-Ngl1y2p-nlmiMf8SbjXtTeUl5EA-v22tK6RKRTNCCDVY627kpmP6jFaOG3n32nMVW0-iaFtU2TaEnxpSU0cauf7RaVdVTa28/s400/rafael1.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rafael and his wife pictured in his workshop.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He is from Matucana, about 3 hours from Lima, in the central
jungle. His wife is from Barranco, a southern district of Lima. He came to Lima for his education. “Everyone comes here for
their studies because, even though there are universities in other parts of Peru,
they do not offer all of the options that Lima universities do. Everyone
believes that the capital is the future. The problem is that then there are no
more opportunities in the jungle, since all the young people have gone to the
city.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He learned artesanía by working in other workshops. While
his parents were artistic and appreciated various art forms, they didn’t
cultivate artistic expression in their children. He studied at Bellas Artes,
the fine arts academy. Rafael started working in artesanía in 1986 and opened
his own workshop in 1990. His work then was more artistic, less commercial than
his current work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He established his current workshop in 2006 and is careful
to explain that “Ceramica Nueva” refers to his commitment to Christianity six
years ago. Prior to that, he says, there were days when he and his family woke
up without any money to buy even bread. But since he has dedicated himself to
God, he has been successful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He lives and works in a small one story building, most of it
taken up by his workshop. “We are in the process of expanding,” he says,
showing me the two cramped rooms where 12 people work, creating the molds,
drying the figures, firing two kilns, painting the figurines and assembling the
pieces. “We have applied for the necessary permits to expand, but,” he says,
with a shrug, “what can you do? We have been waiting for 2 months for approval
and I know we’ll have to wait for at least 2 months more before we get the
approval for a roof. We are also talking to the bank for the financing we need
to complete the expansion.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IAiPPWlYE2s_VLjNmhsjIXJCrz0gtuQ9WGRT0-gFCH0UI6bNMvpTAkKGZKGlPAdQCeGPPlG221pGFReKpEl_R77GcNen-IQAoZ-LYfYFewBt-KGD9J7MIdcJ2xyLUeS1KoqhqA1NfQU/s1600/rafael2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IAiPPWlYE2s_VLjNmhsjIXJCrz0gtuQ9WGRT0-gFCH0UI6bNMvpTAkKGZKGlPAdQCeGPPlG221pGFReKpEl_R77GcNen-IQAoZ-LYfYFewBt-KGD9J7MIdcJ2xyLUeS1KoqhqA1NfQU/s400/rafael2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQJAGXUTCjfa59miU7IrNgXZ8nm8nxe35N60Nykda2grR0xGX9CsQDqMT2Bj4C2WkSdI78wnfNysuTlK5I-TyR5E5ZkQLeskzBYIeN8qzTDrmwO22_5A88oJZ46W4DyJzULILJY3yX0I/s1600/rafael4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQJAGXUTCjfa59miU7IrNgXZ8nm8nxe35N60Nykda2grR0xGX9CsQDqMT2Bj4C2WkSdI78wnfNysuTlK5I-TyR5E5ZkQLeskzBYIeN8qzTDrmwO22_5A88oJZ46W4DyJzULILJY3yX0I/s400/rafael4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Every inch of space is used in Rafael’s small but busy workshop. Upon entering it is plain to see it is a place full of life and activity.</i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rafael’s business has been impacted by the falling dollar,
but in a different way than most: “We have been affected tremendously. But
while we receive less money for our work, we are now getting more orders.” He
is thankful to have so much work when that is not a common story among his
colleagues. He has not had to lay off any workers or take on additional jobs to
make ends meet. “Before I opened Ceramica Nueva, I had to supplement my income
with sculpting, but now I can make enough to support my family.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He is busy with orders from Manos Amigas and other clients.
“I have three clients but don’t have the capacity to take on more.” He has
worked with Manos Amigas for two and a half years, since 2009. One of his
friends worked in a workshop that sold to Manos Amigas and introduced him to
Manos Amigas. Manos Amigas currently represents 40% of his annual sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Manos Amigas is his only fair trade client. It is very
important to him to work with fair trade, since he can trust that he will get
paid, that he will get paid on time, and that he will receive the 50% advance
to purchase his materials and pay his workers. “Others delay with the payment
and it affects me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7r-bWJO4WED9d0pBdvVTTgB5et6EzcMEkFW0v8cxMG0x2SFkTLZm4BQHLtUhhfSkvwnBE5ScqRMHsGfjlyfBztjkjKH4EzM264t84uw6Q-RwWBBSuyjynlOaN8feHwm4B138UEXak0g/s1600/rafael5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7r-bWJO4WED9d0pBdvVTTgB5et6EzcMEkFW0v8cxMG0x2SFkTLZm4BQHLtUhhfSkvwnBE5ScqRMHsGfjlyfBztjkjKH4EzM264t84uw6Q-RwWBBSuyjynlOaN8feHwm4B138UEXak0g/s400/rafael5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">An order is being fulfilled for a Japanese client of
Manos Amigas.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rafael showed us additional product samples he had created,
functional objects with creative twists, such as a pitcher with two knobs
instead of a handle; a teapot that heats up the teacup and fits perfectly
inside; a platter that is meant to evoke a potato, Peru’s most popular crop,
complete with eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He hopes to be able to expand in this direction, using
different glazes, different styles, incorporating more of his artistic skills,
in the future. “I would like to diversify into producing these utilitarian
objects as well, but I need another, higher-quality kiln to successfully expand
into that area.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7NoApqzR-iJ_MCdUl3zCiaCU2jbUHGDfvtuUzu73pXNw7vwyntOcaEhil43mnAfy3qP7nt_gZMNn2X1xu1FZOAAskSqCDQ-8GrwlMqSfhIwVpB87GBDhRdCmCzPXfxOpaaRTKKjpd-E/s1600/rafael11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7NoApqzR-iJ_MCdUl3zCiaCU2jbUHGDfvtuUzu73pXNw7vwyntOcaEhil43mnAfy3qP7nt_gZMNn2X1xu1FZOAAskSqCDQ-8GrwlMqSfhIwVpB87GBDhRdCmCzPXfxOpaaRTKKjpd-E/s320/rafael11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAjieWHRf9oY83QDzcK0topr6FPN-iXaKxRPGpAYryY1dhsyuKWlKpMvqrKrYH4nhWTYGm_EcjpjhjKCA4tHsDz9k3eFWVbpLPEy1gvQ1Uve7UA3NzZGQGjORn6V2DiqUiNmj-lYQKAo/s1600/rafael8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAjieWHRf9oY83QDzcK0topr6FPN-iXaKxRPGpAYryY1dhsyuKWlKpMvqrKrYH4nhWTYGm_EcjpjhjKCA4tHsDz9k3eFWVbpLPEy1gvQ1Uve7UA3NzZGQGjORn6V2DiqUiNmj-lYQKAo/s320/rafael8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSrDrNI7qyfixXosvFtOXwzT8AYC7y4Y4Bnw05AfeoMPXDCJEAmVBvZQ1zSjLtC5mWlK39Fm7y5_xrccqQP14XVg1czDuonb9CU9AbAg0R5rPvBIW7WeYQk_ZCDnoQkshlHYlz6KWrdE/s1600/rafael7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSrDrNI7qyfixXosvFtOXwzT8AYC7y4Y4Bnw05AfeoMPXDCJEAmVBvZQ1zSjLtC5mWlK39Fm7y5_xrccqQP14XVg1czDuonb9CU9AbAg0R5rPvBIW7WeYQk_ZCDnoQkshlHYlz6KWrdE/s320/rafael7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;">Pictured above is a teapot cup combination design that Rafael has made in his attempt to branch out to more utilitarian products.</i>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He and his wife have three children: Julio, 13, Gabriel, 11,
and José María, 8. His children help out in the workshop at times and he gives
them monetary tips for their work. He thinks they will all follow in his
footsteps to be artisans: “They can see how well we have done for ourselves via
artesanía. They want to study administration and other subjects to bring that
knowledge back to the workshop too.”</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJBrlC35xH1BJvvZVil7G_IlRuh69HDKb2ddvZYXpXYxh0GfAniBVzs6Ixxv6P0madd2PREKM5HlvXylTimN9LQNEKqkNDDDZfDULmdr6CAEBEj8LkuyFZZ_-7Y9alqRW9XdGPxqlUXY/s1600/rafael9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJBrlC35xH1BJvvZVil7G_IlRuh69HDKb2ddvZYXpXYxh0GfAniBVzs6Ixxv6P0madd2PREKM5HlvXylTimN9LQNEKqkNDDDZfDULmdr6CAEBEj8LkuyFZZ_-7Y9alqRW9XdGPxqlUXY/s320/rafael9.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Rafael demonstrates the utilitarian use of his
artistically designed water pitcher.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-52832634911864086112012-02-19T10:59:00.000-08:002012-02-19T10:59:16.432-08:00It's a Small, Small World<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my great pleasures in spending time in Peru and volunteering with Manos Amigas is making connections with numerous artisans who make the items we sell at Global Gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> My wife Alison and </span>I recently had the pleasure of visiting Fermin Vilcapoma who makes the beautiful teardrop turquoise earring and necklace set pictured below (and sold at Global Gifts).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In fact, Fermin was in the process of creating this necklace and earring set when we visited (see process description later in post).</span></span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtqXY7rxWLk63CDJbYX52FUNfB-pjHoE1EtC8xW0ORddGiUw-Tid8QRUI4NC2p7t9naJlYqC3XUSjBpMs57jM6G0inXJaUPGd1eHmvsadOzNm9LO8yTIX90hwdMlSljJlJb7miTm_Cm4/s1600/turquoise+neclace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPtqXY7rxWLk63CDJbYX52FUNfB-pjHoE1EtC8xW0ORddGiUw-Tid8QRUI4NC2p7t9naJlYqC3XUSjBpMs57jM6G0inXJaUPGd1eHmvsadOzNm9LO8yTIX90hwdMlSljJlJb7miTm_Cm4/s200/turquoise+neclace.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6abez4uh-2vyoq3lrpXfRLZZU9egSfxw7HZUuR8fwdLdBZX1sOnggoMrijwgw-OqTY0TTNGSJuKxs0XkiKw3qhUyV7TusfEUj0ZijVqVEwcn9mne2-ARrlEsZDkw-7D-gSBihuQ6nMA/s1600/earrings+turqoise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6abez4uh-2vyoq3lrpXfRLZZU9egSfxw7HZUuR8fwdLdBZX1sOnggoMrijwgw-OqTY0TTNGSJuKxs0XkiKw3qhUyV7TusfEUj0ZijVqVEwcn9mne2-ARrlEsZDkw-7D-gSBihuQ6nMA/s200/earrings+turqoise.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Necklace $130, Earrings $54)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">After chatting with Fermin for about 30 minutes he asked where we were from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We answered the United States and he asked which state we came from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alison said Indiana and an excited expression came across his face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I visited Bloomington, Indiana last year!” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He explained that he was part of a group hosted by the IU business school that travelled from Peru to IU to talk about how they have grown their export business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I have a store in Bloomington!” I responded just as excitedly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I visited a fair trade store when I was in Bloomington” exclaimed Fermin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It had some of my jewelry for sale there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was excited to see my jewelry for sale so I had my picture taken with it” he continued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he tried to recall the name of the store I said, “Was it Global Gifts?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Yes!” said Fermin.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">What were the chances that we could make a connection like this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later I recalled that Dave, the manager of the Bloomington Global Gifts, had told me about a group of Peruvians that had visited the store early in 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, “One of the Peruvians had found some of his jewelry in our store,” Dave had told me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“He even had his picture taken with it” Dave had said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time I didn’t think too much of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally when an artisan visits one of our stores it is because we have arranged it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dave nor I had any prior knowledge about this visit so I took it as an interesting and somewhat curious event but didn’t give it more thought after that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now here I was with that very artisan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt like finding the missing link of a riddle I had forgotten to solve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>(Sam pictured with Fermin outside of his workshop/home)</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><u>Jewelry Making Process</u></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjY17Q-6lMngy-Qf4seUmAB-np9607Ykj71pT1zuLgdKE11VB3nW6Ja23QKLMi_EYKCojleiemfI3OlqcJsuGAsPGSdt1UuQh1d3jY6rZu1_GkaGUmCsMw_DURkgi9VC1sQkCqI_8ono/s1600/silver+plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjY17Q-6lMngy-Qf4seUmAB-np9607Ykj71pT1zuLgdKE11VB3nW6Ja23QKLMi_EYKCojleiemfI3OlqcJsuGAsPGSdt1UuQh1d3jY6rZu1_GkaGUmCsMw_DURkgi9VC1sQkCqI_8ono/s320/silver+plate.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcC6Ie-jqSl0E5M1cAIFf-LTS4RVAr5spI8gHLE7zJvu-Qahrjjb16e-xDgnLgRhBgKOvTKfMWQ_HsEh1petLhAnuwgYr4psJ4BXmMBRc-kuCcwypEbTZUdQEIal-_7aVrj39SpIO0UCI/s1600/turqoise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcC6Ie-jqSl0E5M1cAIFf-LTS4RVAr5spI8gHLE7zJvu-Qahrjjb16e-xDgnLgRhBgKOvTKfMWQ_HsEh1petLhAnuwgYr4psJ4BXmMBRc-kuCcwypEbTZUdQEIal-_7aVrj39SpIO0UCI/s1600/turqoise.jpg" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYG1I8glderZjkrnKN-MmxU8DAs4UWPyTnIXJQcTeZOANVxBhfnAgj7cX3wDyeyet1-cCdIPXLG_gTKcRwQtgD2-Ru2_jf3-K4Fw3bgsNDJ3nIV-GBEplZId4LYPUzpc-doogQHwRWco/s1600/fermin+with+rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYG1I8glderZjkrnKN-MmxU8DAs4UWPyTnIXJQcTeZOANVxBhfnAgj7cX3wDyeyet1-cCdIPXLG_gTKcRwQtgD2-Ru2_jf3-K4Fw3bgsNDJ3nIV-GBEplZId4LYPUzpc-doogQHwRWco/s320/fermin+with+rock.jpg" width="240" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Above: When we visited Fermin’s workshop, he was in the process of filling an order for one of his best-selling pairs of earrings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are beautiful Peruvian turquoise stone earrings set in silver in the shape of teardrops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Fermin is holding a chunk of the as-yet-unprocessed turquoise that comes out of the copper mines of Peru. Also pictured is a piece of silver where the design of the earrings has been etched in.)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong>(Above: 1) Each earring is cut by hand from the silver and 2) the silver earring hooks are cut and formed from what looks like long pieces of silver thread.)</strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpmMnRg6NzyVs5FBREJXceV3qMHALdxyEGOckkow4JcuinxQ_RffeTlmZb2YtoS2ok2sx0nPExjPPlQr6rEwWLgXZVHH5PQG92yUX_Gr-2lGuMCJqcDat0IwgEL5Un5R7PkqRt1uaHIM/s1600/more+hooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpmMnRg6NzyVs5FBREJXceV3qMHALdxyEGOckkow4JcuinxQ_RffeTlmZb2YtoS2ok2sx0nPExjPPlQr6rEwWLgXZVHH5PQG92yUX_Gr-2lGuMCJqcDat0IwgEL5Un5R7PkqRt1uaHIM/s200/more+hooks.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></strong></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>(Above: 1) A neat pile of silver thread, cut for the earring hooks. 2) Finishing touches are made to the earrings when the sides are smoothed and the hooks are attached under the heat of a blowtorch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3) Last the stone is set within the silver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did not have the opportunity to see the stone being cut and polished but this process takes place in the workshop as well.) </strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><strong>More About Fermin</strong></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Fermín Vilcapoma Bohórquez is a native of Canta, a province three hours from Lima. He moved to Lima with his mother when he was pretty young; he has lived here since 1<sup>st</sup> grade. </span>His wife, Magdalena, is from Lima. They have two sons, Franco (14 years old) and Aaron (11 years old). His workshop and home are located in San Juan de Lurigancho. Fermín produces beautiful jewelry: earrings, pendants, brooches, rings.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">He learned jewelry making from his father. Fermín wanted to study systems engineering but was not able to go to university, so he started making a living based on his training. He was the oldest brother and therefore felt somewhat obligated to be an example and join the family business. He has 3 siblings, two brothers and a sister. While his sister is an English teacher, the brothers are also jewelry makers. Although he was not able to attend university, he’s been able to study administration and accounting to benefit his business,.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The number of people he employs in his workshop has fluctuated over time. For example, in 1995 he had 5 employees. In 2000, he employed 15. In 2012, he has 5 (in addition to himself and his wife, Magdalena). Of the current seven employees, 2 are women. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">He purchases his materials once an order has been placed, since silver is expensive (for example, a kilo of silver can cost between USD $1,200-$1,800). He is also careful to use all the silver, and saves and melts down the extra parts (that have been cut out from a design, for example) for reuse.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">His designs come from various places. Sometimes he designs the products. Frequently his clients do too. They will send him a drawing of something they’d like, and Fermín will trade drawings back and forth with them until they arrive at a design the client likes and that Fermín can produce.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">He’s been in his current workshop since 2000. Prior to moving here, he has worked in workshops first in his mother’s home and later in his father-in-law’s house. <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">His living and working conditions have improved considerably from when he started: he was living and working in a tin shack. Now Fermín has a four-story cement building that continues to serve as both his home and workshop, although the spaces are well-divided.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">His dream for the future is to move his living space out of his workshop building and use that space as a jewelry school. He and his wife would like to be able to teach poor people the craft of jewelry making so they can improve their living situations and lives. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Fermín hopes his sons will be involved in the family business as adults but strongly believes they need to discover what makes them happy and do it. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJRAdE7dWaM98s6hhGpAHjll12NxmuAL2wDMpJo7bSR_1DMu003sciTTjZmIGA_wdhizxddoM0ne5sKL6Uwqgs5Dyx0vKLH4yjoPsBPV4arYgvyZoBg4BE9bE_XI1YLTzjbZnaNZaJ5c/s1600/fermin+and+son.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJRAdE7dWaM98s6hhGpAHjll12NxmuAL2wDMpJo7bSR_1DMu003sciTTjZmIGA_wdhizxddoM0ne5sKL6Uwqgs5Dyx0vKLH4yjoPsBPV4arYgvyZoBg4BE9bE_XI1YLTzjbZnaNZaJ5c/s320/fermin+and+son.jpg" width="286" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Above: Fermin pictured with his sons Franco, top, and Aaron, bottom)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Fermín is the secretary of a fair trade organization called APTEC (<a href="http://www.aptecperu.com/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.aptecperu.com/</span></a>), the only one in Peru that is formed exclusively of producers. Different product lines are represented, like weavers, clothing, potters, and jewelry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s been part of this group for 3 years and while he is proud of them, he feels like there has been a lot of work without much success so far. Still, he has hope that investing time and resources into this group which will help each of the producers be more successful in the coming years. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">His business has been hit hard by the recession. In the last 2 years, he has had to lay off 8 workers. He is hopeful that business will rebound as the worldwide economy improves. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">A goal of his is to expand his market and gain more clients. In 2008, he and Magdalena began to travel to the US once a year for a craft fair in Manhattan. They went three times, made many product samples per potential clients’ requests, yet gained only one client. As Magdalena mentioned, they ended 2010 with no money after traveling to the US several times! So while they would love more international clients, they are currently unsure how to accomplish this without losing more money.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When Fermín was asked what he likes most about his work, he offered several examples: How his business has grown in the last 25 years. How he and his employees have been able to support themselves and be successful through fair trade. Seeing his products in stores (like Global Gifts). </span></div></span><br />
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"></div></span></span>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-48874278887918294552012-02-03T19:10:00.000-08:002012-02-03T19:10:29.671-08:00Show Time at Manos Amigas<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is show time at Manos Amigas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Muestras or more literally “shows” is the name for product samples the artisans submit to be considered for the new catalog that goes out to clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From December through January artisans bring in the bulk of their muestras which also allows them to be considered for inclusion for a large gift fair in Germany that Manos Amigas has participated in in recent years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past Manos Amigas has generated many new product orders through this fair so it is a good opportunity for the artisans to have their products selected for the fair.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have had the opportunity to sit in on some of the sessions when artisans have brought their muestras to show Yannina.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is fun seeing the great variety of products that come in and it has been especially neat for me to see how artisans have incorporated some of the suggestions I made during a training on characteristics of best-selling products I did a few months ago.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When samples are brought in the artisan sits across from Yannina and the items are put out on her desk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She always compliments the artisan on their good work and exclaims over how nice their items look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can tell when she is really excited about a product but even when she is not she shows her appreciation. Manos Amigas really wants to encourage artisans to bring in more product ideas/samples to be considered for the catalog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is a risk to the artisan to do so because they may spend a lot of time and energy creating a new product and then that product may not end up being included in the catalog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be because it is not in line with what Manos Amigas is looking for or the quality may be too low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Manos Amigas does include the great majority of muestras in their catalog but that still doesn’t mean an order will be placed for the item.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, typically only about 10% of what is in the catalog will actually be ordered by a client.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jgCc-Ma8sa9CfMqWXnhtwztlLYAfTlkfi6MckkTgC9mNiOTk7eQow5Byo0bIBsW2FBMOYqTp8sJqUpWm2cZqRSkVo5xfH1m0nipyFPRLNUnZOZ_moJcXcbq5lUbqp85-zt9nWGR5osE/s1600/Copy+of+DSCN0328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jgCc-Ma8sa9CfMqWXnhtwztlLYAfTlkfi6MckkTgC9mNiOTk7eQow5Byo0bIBsW2FBMOYqTp8sJqUpWm2cZqRSkVo5xfH1m0nipyFPRLNUnZOZ_moJcXcbq5lUbqp85-zt9nWGR5osE/s320/Copy+of+DSCN0328.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Manos Amigas has a goal of diversifying its product line beyond the heavy Christmas focus they currently have. During the capacity building training I stressed teacher gifts as one way to achieve this. This was one artisan's interpretation of that message. These will be appearing at Global Gifts in April.</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></em><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yannina works with the artisans by making suggestions for modifications in color, style, and so on to give the product the best chance possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many cases, artisans return with the modifications within a week or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been fun to see this process in action. Sitting in on many of these sessions I have been asked to offer my opinion as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am honored to be asked and because of my years in the stores I think I can bring a valuable perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But at the same time I feel a great sense of responsibility in offering suggestions because these products represent the livelihood of folks who are living with little or no extra income.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lack of orders may mean a child has to withdraw from school or a family has to move from a house with running water to one without it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one instance, Yannina learned from an artisan that his daughter was going to withdraw from university due to lack of funds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked him about his situation, asked for a letter from the daughter about the importance of her education, and asked him to email her a picture of the entire family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later I asked if Manos Amigas was going to help pay the daughter’s tuition. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“He is one of our best artisans,” she said, “right now he has no orders.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, she was going to help pay the daughter's school fees, at least for a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maurelio came back the next day with his daughter so they could thank Yannina together.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdGm8Jqeb4lC-5LNEJZDoOC_2nYiewLPOesCm_RUO_HRlkR1mPwmHIQDwVaPBNsqwRS6Npm5R0qDXFsSIOqppbSZY_bW6I8Gu7Glqp2aRXEKFPLRZNLQn5U5jgLEfJgG-42zlFzc4zQY/s1600/DSCN3558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdGm8Jqeb4lC-5LNEJZDoOC_2nYiewLPOesCm_RUO_HRlkR1mPwmHIQDwVaPBNsqwRS6Npm5R0qDXFsSIOqppbSZY_bW6I8Gu7Glqp2aRXEKFPLRZNLQn5U5jgLEfJgG-42zlFzc4zQY/s320/DSCN3558.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Maurelio in his workshop.</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is fun to see the artisans’ creativity at work in this process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often there is a discussion about size, shape, and color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example Yannina might say, </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those figurines look a little cartoonish in their facial expression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These sculptures are beautiful but I am not sure if they can sell at that price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This cow and sheep are too large for that nativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While these are all types of constructive feedback that Yannina give, of course she offers a lot of praise and encouragement as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMKl0oanDBT1bPWmUCRHMYVrCucMnJQ7fdikW27546ncPWjw6smWpoUaBUE7rbT5_s23POp-iJK1i9QdSRavSKRirMaWY8qKT_WrqOBqPWumIie3m3oHmRWOaagZ5zxn7sV8-IsENXX4/s1600/DSCN0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMKl0oanDBT1bPWmUCRHMYVrCucMnJQ7fdikW27546ncPWjw6smWpoUaBUE7rbT5_s23POp-iJK1i9QdSRavSKRirMaWY8qKT_WrqOBqPWumIie3m3oHmRWOaagZ5zxn7sV8-IsENXX4/s200/DSCN0323.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This represents a "modern day" nativity. We had a good time talking about who could stand in for the 3 wisemen. Will this be a popular nativity? I have no idea, but it certainly is different. I did believe in it enough to order some for Global Gifts.</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year I understand more muestras have come in than usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the capacity building training we emphasized the importance of continually creating new items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We said the risk of not creating new items is greater than the risk of creating new items and having them not sell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because even a great selling item won’t remain strong forever, their line of products needs to continually be renewed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is gratifying to see the increase in muestras this year and I wonder if the training had something to do with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way, being part of this experience has been educational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps even more exciting is that soon many of these products will be available at Global Gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After going through this process, I had to place an order!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><em></em> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXidZ0hFp4yofk-F97ZxZZuWJ845HMbEBcNZnbbGSuzNrYAFOTYVLJtHruLPhDSExHtbxdxPckYagiWYMDH_PWixtGcY2sVPx5OmGMPqLVpGz9JGX67h8mKp59t4zte-_eKfQQm9BEm94/s1600/DSCN0322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><em><img border="0" height="192" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXidZ0hFp4yofk-F97ZxZZuWJ845HMbEBcNZnbbGSuzNrYAFOTYVLJtHruLPhDSExHtbxdxPckYagiWYMDH_PWixtGcY2sVPx5OmGMPqLVpGz9JGX67h8mKp59t4zte-_eKfQQm9BEm94/s200/DSCN0322.JPG" width="200" /></em></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This fine couple represents another attempt to diversify away from Christmas. During a training I suggested that figures of couples or families with children are popular items at Global Gifts. This was one of several items that came in as a result. You will be able to find it at Global Gifts sometime this spring!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><em></em> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHir7b8ZV-zPbfnCEnxbnyf8tnvyQrdyPwUtjLId2q-hvUjCAHtUGNT4FzqsG9GIC8OpSFs-de_M2uH4SYuedoqQjrBIivg1gjoHzTNToVDsxK34EQjow8_2KwLeYN3bHDvY9DQtysod8/s1600/DSCN0330+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="116" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHir7b8ZV-zPbfnCEnxbnyf8tnvyQrdyPwUtjLId2q-hvUjCAHtUGNT4FzqsG9GIC8OpSFs-de_M2uH4SYuedoqQjrBIivg1gjoHzTNToVDsxK34EQjow8_2KwLeYN3bHDvY9DQtysod8/s200/DSCN0330+%25282%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>These ceramic eggs will be great for Easter. I hope we will have them in at Global Gifts in time for this year's holiday!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-9772081310704807702011-12-17T17:45:00.000-08:002011-12-17T17:45:54.247-08:00Believing in Fair Trade<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the time I was first introduced to fair trade I thought it was a good idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I first learned of the concept when I was living in Northern Ireland in 1999. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Derry, where I was living, became a “Fair Trade Town”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A special event was held at City Hall and I attended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There I got to sample fair trade tea, chocolate, and coffee and I heard a brief presentation on what fair trade is all about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mix of social mission and business was appealing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That event had a big impact on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happened right about the same time I needed to choose a topic for my Master’s Thesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a bit of effort in convincing my professors it was a suitable topic, fair trade became the subject of my Thesis. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The research I did in the 6 months or so it took me to complete my paper made me a believer that fair trade was effectively and efficiently providing much needed employment and resources to families and communities in developing countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a long story that I won’t go into here but it was through my research that I became introduced to Global Gifts where I am now employed.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9N6UiGz0jIi67PcxM63Kb0I2WKEdywJNCj35DNAhXw2L8n-ZFkwlbeL501c20OxGvzWyY9YfmPzavTA2iqEzBQmUUWnbDxUAk7sEcL6r53zQjSmH_TunRTh5MZ1SmBsL2HsDtQVkLDk/s1600/DSCN0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9N6UiGz0jIi67PcxM63Kb0I2WKEdywJNCj35DNAhXw2L8n-ZFkwlbeL501c20OxGvzWyY9YfmPzavTA2iqEzBQmUUWnbDxUAk7sEcL6r53zQjSmH_TunRTh5MZ1SmBsL2HsDtQVkLDk/s320/DSCN0368.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Senora Toshinada, Maruca, and Joel swap stories about clients over lunch.</em></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Though my belief in fair trade has remained strong, it is always nice when I have it reaffirmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My recent experience with Manos Amigas has done just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the recent capacity building training that Manos Amigas hosted for their artisan partners, I had a chance to speak with several different people about their work and their thoughts on fair trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For lunch one day we all went to a nearby restaurant in Lima.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alison and I sat with 3 artisans during the meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When talking about their business, all three shared stories of clients who treated them badly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, Joel spoke about a woman who bought from them who was very friendly in their initial interactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would ask about his family and about his mother who was ill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then when he went to her shop to deliver the order, she would barely acknowledge him and treated him rudely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In contrast, Manos Amigas helped the family buy medication for his mother when she was near the end of her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was also grateful that Manos Amigas loaned the family money that was later forgiven for a coffin when his mother died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This sort of giving and assistance is not always a part of fair trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the respect and appreciation for producers it represents is very much a part of fair trade.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhDq4SCNwFSvnFVOmumNz2cwk4Dq9yEyDMxaHoU8gpzoE5N88W9gH7W6xQ9CCpsR3-Jnnw2Kqc3IMC_tFiqzVtGGV7ydItyXbT0qVqfYb8Y5UchfgY7nmf-cLe7Ul-lcyrldloiMH3yA/s1600/DSCN0367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhDq4SCNwFSvnFVOmumNz2cwk4Dq9yEyDMxaHoU8gpzoE5N88W9gH7W6xQ9CCpsR3-Jnnw2Kqc3IMC_tFiqzVtGGV7ydItyXbT0qVqfYb8Y5UchfgY7nmf-cLe7Ul-lcyrldloiMH3yA/s320/DSCN0367.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Yannina, Director of Manos Amigas, with Senora Toshinado</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We also heard stories of mistreatment through lack of payment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one case, a group was taken advantage of when they worked with a middleman who delivered products for them. But after he delivered the products and received payment, he ran off with the money rather than paying the group what they had earned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While these types of stories don’t necessarily represent business as usual in the non-fair trade market, I believe they do represent a vulnerability that the artisans have because they are often quite desperate to take whatever opportunity that may lay before them or at least appear to lay before them.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIY7zxVXx20N3WOUT7z6BalWuFZFwiaSeOa0b2ltdI_g1jG0lm8oqijmOFPrAkNzXnC40ROkX0P-apIhIvBUj8wO_wrmZihSu-CgkbhSX7da2-8ErmBwCgdcjkuL178iEeuDI7D1Wa-xg/s1600/DSCN0594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIY7zxVXx20N3WOUT7z6BalWuFZFwiaSeOa0b2ltdI_g1jG0lm8oqijmOFPrAkNzXnC40ROkX0P-apIhIvBUj8wO_wrmZihSu-CgkbhSX7da2-8ErmBwCgdcjkuL178iEeuDI7D1Wa-xg/s400/DSCN0594.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Yannina and Luigi (a buyer from an Italian fair trade organization) walk to visit several artisan workshops in this neighborhood.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But treating producers with basic respect and dignity is just part of the fair trade equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another critcal contrast is the 50% downpayment that is made when an order is placed by a fair trade buyer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes orders are quite large involving thousands of individual pieces to be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only does the 50% downpayment provide needed income for materials and paying workshop employees, it also provides confidence that the buyer won’t walk out on the deal mid-way through without paying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I asked how much non-fair trade buyers would pay in advance for an order, the answer came back “not much”, 10-20% or sometimes nothing at all.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIsF-G_h4e9_fM9755Stg90Rd1dPVJjCuHsURTSjlR-ATZ8vQc8COxEK74ouM0e0K3eAzKkGHHdI7mioCHPuw6PYImGzKxDKPc9ufgG9bWrPe4VNOih28J8kA24wyWe2n6Cuoc9sdbAI/s1600/DSCN0548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><em><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIsF-G_h4e9_fM9755Stg90Rd1dPVJjCuHsURTSjlR-ATZ8vQc8COxEK74ouM0e0K3eAzKkGHHdI7mioCHPuw6PYImGzKxDKPc9ufgG9bWrPe4VNOih28J8kA24wyWe2n6Cuoc9sdbAI/s400/DSCN0548.JPG" width="300" /></em></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Leonidas stands at the entrance of his home and ceramics workshop. He has been selling to Manos Amigas for 20 years.</em></span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Manos Amigas works with around 87 artisan workshops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each workshop has a handful of employees which increases or decreases depending on the level of orders they are receiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means several hundred people (nearly 1,000 during peak times) may be receiving employment through Manos Amigas at any given time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I have had the opportunity to talk with some of these folks I will often ask, “Is fair trade important to you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it make much of a difference?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe a little bit or not much?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over and over again the person I’m speaking with eyes become big and the look on their face is emphatic, “Yes, it is very important!” they respond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzSeXE9UQFj-nUb3gVvhcBcrpReAwpYP4u0WffbS3G6sOc2UOeYOiym5wDDsi6JlgNnCBG5QKfXHe3toNTG56qSOE7but2riiPxpWWa5zwBZKlRJsK5Xk1XyjB82hOJyIEZwKBCJgaZ0/s1600/DSCN0564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzSeXE9UQFj-nUb3gVvhcBcrpReAwpYP4u0WffbS3G6sOc2UOeYOiym5wDDsi6JlgNnCBG5QKfXHe3toNTG56qSOE7but2riiPxpWWa5zwBZKlRJsK5Xk1XyjB82hOJyIEZwKBCJgaZ0/s640/DSCN0564.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It moves me to know that I am part of a community of people, a movement, which is impacting lives and setting a just standard of business through fair trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Manos Amigas is one fair trade exporter among a dozen or more significantly sized fair trade businesses working in Peru.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each business represents a community of varying size of folks who are enjoying being part of the fair trade system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would estimate that the reach of that impact is felt by several thousand people in the country of Peru although I can only make a guess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Artisans like Daniel, exporters like Manos Amigas, importers like Ten Thousand Villages and SERRV, and stores like Global Gifts, and the people who buy these beautifully made products are part of a system of business that respects people and the planet, reaches out to those who lack opportunity, and I believe brings people around the world a bit closer together.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gewkdWy6-oO0gaj6q0n1tRKqq7vJ3iUTwei1HxlF61utexPl3Bhr4pL1nXb6V98cfGNwJVZlbujg5eAi_LnstXEGpYXkDsuLzaCYZIzXBI1Wx_Q3MSt-Qzw_ro3zSNkKtUAgB0F_pJA/s1600/DSCN0605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gewkdWy6-oO0gaj6q0n1tRKqq7vJ3iUTwei1HxlF61utexPl3Bhr4pL1nXb6V98cfGNwJVZlbujg5eAi_LnstXEGpYXkDsuLzaCYZIzXBI1Wx_Q3MSt-Qzw_ro3zSNkKtUAgB0F_pJA/s400/DSCN0605.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Daniel a ceramics artisan, Yannina an exporter, Luigi an importer, and Sam a store manager represent the chain that is involved with fair trade. Only missing was Alison, the consumer, who was taking the photo. Later Luigi asked for another photo to be taken with Simon included as the "future of fair trade". Could Walmart take this picture? :) </em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I consider the significant impact fair trade is having in Peru and then I imagine the multiplied impact of fair trade throughout the world, I can’t help but be proud of the work we are doing at Global Gifts and the work being done within the fair trade movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within this series of thoughtful transactions that represent fair trade business is a place I am happy to be.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy93KjqGOte-DkVWHALQn7WIvmg4o29sV1OEyRrERjVYQ4br2Dvgewr83eqd-KBbtG1XOctuehLtNjUDiBmsq5SwsvUgdvqBYYE-Ejq2YoSrXrL_VjknQHW0G2XB6AkYqiJuE7W4Dnbc/s1600/DSCN0405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy93KjqGOte-DkVWHALQn7WIvmg4o29sV1OEyRrERjVYQ4br2Dvgewr83eqd-KBbtG1XOctuehLtNjUDiBmsq5SwsvUgdvqBYYE-Ejq2YoSrXrL_VjknQHW0G2XB6AkYqiJuE7W4Dnbc/s320/DSCN0405.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-51328585064830621432011-12-01T11:03:00.000-08:002011-12-01T11:03:07.657-08:00One Month with Manos Amigas<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have now completed just over one month volunteering with Manos Amigas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has certainly been a busy <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard to know where to start writing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We arrived at Manos Amigas with a lot of unanswered questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What type of work would we be doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were the folks who run Manos Amigas really even that excited about our being there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was our work appreciated?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were we going to have opportunities to work with artisans as well as the administrators of the organization?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These questions swirled in our heads during our initial days and even weeks with Manos Amigas. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our communication with Manos Amigas before we started was more limited than I would have liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yannina who runs the organization is clearly very busy and we wanted to limit our initial email exchanges as much as we could when we were making our plans to come here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got the impression she was busy because there was often a delay of several days or more when we sent an email and we knew she was doing a lot of travelling related to some of the tours Manos Amigas organizes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we were really taking a bit of a leap of faith in choosing Manos Amigas as our volunteer destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently they felt the same way about us.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even during our initial emails, Yannina let us know they had not had a lot of luck with past volunteers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite our work experience, despite sending detailed resumes, even though we were recommended by a mutual colleague, it felt as if we were accepted as volunteers somewhat reluctantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have recently heard some of the horror stories about past volunteers which helped us better understand their hesitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early on we decided that we had to prove ourselves as capable and helpful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our first task was helping Manos Amigas with their website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had noticed before we left the states that their website was no longer up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also were no longer receiving responses to emails we sent Yannina and we thought these two issues might be related.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a long story but it sounds like because of a dispute with their former web designer, they lost their website address and their email addresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time we arrived at Manos Amigas, their website had been down for over six weeks although they were able to set up new email addresses before then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first day we started work, Yannina asked if we had experience with websites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alison and I both had limited experience in website development and upkeep. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither one of us are experienced designers but within a matter of a few days, we were able to get a functioning website up and running for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For an organization that ships products to some 21 countries and works with 87 artisan workshops, having a functioning website is critical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoPj6kqjS-T085cDOXBCRjLdYalCyd93a9Iit8NZtQsGaWbzvW_sQ31K1GUTK-s8ZzIcUvvaQiF37dctl6AgD3_4Fp7CjVsX6hzFCu0g5_PIhk8H3DaJFIVyr_wgYrC_FELBd4xumuxM/s1600/screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoPj6kqjS-T085cDOXBCRjLdYalCyd93a9Iit8NZtQsGaWbzvW_sQ31K1GUTK-s8ZzIcUvvaQiF37dctl6AgD3_4Fp7CjVsX6hzFCu0g5_PIhk8H3DaJFIVyr_wgYrC_FELBd4xumuxM/s400/screenshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">A screenshot of the new website, </span></em><a href="http://www.manos-amigas.com.pe/"><em><span style="font-size: small;">www.manos-amigas.com.pe</span></em></a><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While Alison has continued to make improvements to their website and began developing their product catalog, I shifted my focus to their annual “remate” or clearance sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each year Manos Amigas holds a sale of their old sample items and of items made for shipment but for one reason or another never shipped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was put in charge of managing this sale and Alison provided much needed help with this as well.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Manos Amigas has a nice showroom within their office building/warehouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is filled with natural light and is ideal for displaying products.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However in the showroom they have pieces of plywood set on top of stacks of old wooden crates that they use for display tables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I arrived, every flat surface was covered with different types of products.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And under these makeshifts display tables were boxes and boxes of old product, often ceramics that were thrown in the boxes at varying levels of care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then I was shown the really big boxes that were full of a LOT MORE stuff that had to be stored in another room because they didn’t fit in the show room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<u>All of it</u>” I was told should be put out for the remate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept thinking of the Global Gifts staff and how each year it seems like an impossible task to put all the new holiday merchandise out on the floor in addition to stocking up on regular items for that busy time of year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That experience served me well here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In addition to displaying all of this product (more on that later) I was to price it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 25% of the product had a price on it and another 25% had a code or SKU but no price and the remaining 50% had neither.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it had a price, great, with some cleaning it was ready to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there was a code but no price, than I needed to take it into another room, and find the item in their database.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially for any Global Gifts staff that may be reading this, this database is an excel spreadsheet that literally is broken into about 15 tabs across the bottom and there are probably close to 40,000 to 50,000 SKU’s in the database.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is not necessarily a quick thing to find a sku.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those items that don’t have a SKU it gets more complicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the item didn’t have the SKU, I was to find a picture of it and the picture would be named with the sku.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I could look it up in the database.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To find the picture, I was to look through around 80 different artisan folders on the computer, to see which one of them might have made the item and therefore had the picture of the product I was looking for in their folder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Not exactly an efficient process” I thought. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After looking up enough product prices I thought I was getting the hang of what the prices would be without looking them up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That coupled with the fact that I knew these products were really old and they were motivated to get rid of them made me feel comfortable enough to propose that rather than looking up all these prices (which would take forever) maybe I could just assign prices without looking them up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After suggesting prices for several items to Yannina, she agreed that would be a good way for me to work going forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things went much quicker from there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next came putting these products out for display.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Mario introduced this project to me he took me to the second level of Manos Amigas which is still under construction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Picture bare concrete floors and walls, piles of boards and scrap lumber, metal pipes and re bar sticking up out of the floor, sawhorses and other tools scattered around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>Use any of this for display,” he said, pointing to the construction site material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Old wooden crates, rough wood boards of varying lengths, a metal pole, rusty mattress springs were all up for grabs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it was all covered with a thick layer of dust.</span></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxcQJRZ92Dq9HsXdxTZzi349iAxKY1FS2aEL39VtlZCUT3yOWcmbTclsEKyOO-P4oE8GQ2ydcU0AnD7b-Oym_KStknQ6X2A_ZyhVvRrNJ6HoPvtjnz2KF2Z-4IhXuQBhK0PpMDpLI51Y/s1600/DSCN0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxcQJRZ92Dq9HsXdxTZzi349iAxKY1FS2aEL39VtlZCUT3yOWcmbTclsEKyOO-P4oE8GQ2ydcU0AnD7b-Oym_KStknQ6X2A_ZyhVvRrNJ6HoPvtjnz2KF2Z-4IhXuQBhK0PpMDpLI51Y/s400/DSCN0109.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>An example of what I started working with.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had fun rummaging through this material to figure out how to create displays from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I enjoyed putting the product out and making it look the best I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was interesting to open up the numerous old boxes to see what might be inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What wasn’t fun was finding many of the boxes were crawling with silverfish or discovering painted gourds full of sawdust from termites or other insects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every now and then my hands became so black handling product that I needed to wash them before going on.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUZBg4pzXz4VDQeXcOwUAdIWfoRy6uDGRPyTmq8aCaw-lVQz3j6EdnxX6IusOfSTUCOqlxQfNOPbl4BINusLyYNg1TdEp5tpKQal0qHXxiC0P9BohePzXqc1mZyjobWArdEhkYg9A6D4/s1600/DSCN0156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUZBg4pzXz4VDQeXcOwUAdIWfoRy6uDGRPyTmq8aCaw-lVQz3j6EdnxX6IusOfSTUCOqlxQfNOPbl4BINusLyYNg1TdEp5tpKQal0qHXxiC0P9BohePzXqc1mZyjobWArdEhkYg9A6D4/s640/DSCN0156.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A crate with a board on top creates nice levels for a sea of miniatures.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mB-eMsrI5J-BfTDNlbGDVT246JWDyGiZmrilrYxkHGD1Bszf9bCd9ROtlndvCEV_iIKYQ2m3xxLrG0OeXT0pA0fzqoZLKqY4UyyAW7h4rNKP0EHHxLAgcUbS1jrZ4NhFECpIL4408gw/s1600/DSCN0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mB-eMsrI5J-BfTDNlbGDVT246JWDyGiZmrilrYxkHGD1Bszf9bCd9ROtlndvCEV_iIKYQ2m3xxLrG0OeXT0pA0fzqoZLKqY4UyyAW7h4rNKP0EHHxLAgcUbS1jrZ4NhFECpIL4408gw/s400/DSCN0154.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">Another photo from the remate</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNS9idKOLYKHqPetSgAB53VL64NjuWCUIcKqsm6GRF_gZMfb1NcmGBKC_Zb92t9Riq7L37CYywODBK89ZhPzP-zUCeQK_7wKFV6ztv3UbimTGyyCWIrfzIVFFJLW-T0LfONGO7d9uI0QU/s1600/DSCN0147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNS9idKOLYKHqPetSgAB53VL64NjuWCUIcKqsm6GRF_gZMfb1NcmGBKC_Zb92t9Riq7L37CYywODBK89ZhPzP-zUCeQK_7wKFV6ztv3UbimTGyyCWIrfzIVFFJLW-T0LfONGO7d9uI0QU/s400/DSCN0147.JPG" width="376" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>This display of musical instruments was nearly bought out in the first two days :)</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The sale has been going on now for a couple of weeks and it seems like it is off to a good start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People come to shop every now and then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some days no one comes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mostly just friends of Yannina’s mom come and shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a good thing Yannna’s mom has lots of friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one moment there were 5 women all wanting to check out at once and no one seemed to get the concept of a line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition the women were all giving me special instructions (in Spanish) and for a while it got pretty crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I thought I was going to miss the Christmas rush this year” is what kept going through my head.</span></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAghDD7BnPyCVxCCs3z0EMkSEOHXLenPvcA5uhc1iTAvSwsd3W4M70oionBNVfW0-WfCUW8LVTMwRXDCmQ_JwLyx5hJnbYN8BxUzxoZ8ouch2QOZDGi5-qtkTwSQO0vfdQ3H_wmnTL1tw/s1600/DSCN0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAghDD7BnPyCVxCCs3z0EMkSEOHXLenPvcA5uhc1iTAvSwsd3W4M70oionBNVfW0-WfCUW8LVTMwRXDCmQ_JwLyx5hJnbYN8BxUzxoZ8ouch2QOZDGi5-qtkTwSQO0vfdQ3H_wmnTL1tw/s400/DSCN0151.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>A broader view</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">More is happening but this post is already long so I’ll include more in another post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We are now feeling like our work is appreciated and we are happy with our choice of volunteering with Manos Amigas. </span>Tomorrow artisans begin arriving for a capacity building training Manos Amigas is holding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m doing a presentation on what makes a great selling product.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll let you know how it goes.</span></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-78958110819177159372011-11-05T15:22:00.000-07:002011-11-05T15:22:44.212-07:00A Visit with Maurelio Huaraca<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently the board of Ten Thousand Villages traveled to Peru to visit some of the artisans that make the products that they sell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yannina Meza, Director of Manos Amigas, coordinated their visit and Alison, Simon and I were fortunate to be able to tag along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One artisan we met was Maurelio Huaraca.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maurelio Huaraca</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We drove to the town of Lurin, just outside of Lima, to visit the ceramics workshop of Maurelio Huaraca.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maurelio moved to Lima when he was 14 to get away from the terrorism that plagued much of the Peruvian countryside at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maurelio lives in a modest home <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with his family and makes ceramic figures using traditional Peruvian techniques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFFhiN-P7jZCaZx2wqy8idaV3lbdiiBp3QPdJUibICzU0B0RDA-vQ4kkbgsH9HXIDmASNvKb7M93CuNmn-NgwARpPQDrJB2eSUw73RxCfO8qi0B3xtsFbj3PxMfTcgixnyzUJXPIZPpo/s1600/DSCN3557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFFhiN-P7jZCaZx2wqy8idaV3lbdiiBp3QPdJUibICzU0B0RDA-vQ4kkbgsH9HXIDmASNvKb7M93CuNmn-NgwARpPQDrJB2eSUw73RxCfO8qi0B3xtsFbj3PxMfTcgixnyzUJXPIZPpo/s320/DSCN3557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The technique was originally used for making utilitarian pieces but he has adapted it for making decorative pieces for export. He learned the trade from his father as he played in his father’s workshop as a child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The figures which most frequently are nativity scenes are a combination of molded and hand formed clay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maurelio makes the molds by hand and the molded part serves as the base of his pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then hand forms pieces such as a head, arms, and so on and attaches them to the molded base. He uses natural colors and traditional glazes for his pieces.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnUVu60BkgpP1Ux163CmLLN_RCbMC8R2dH2sahyphenhyphenHVysnWUZpMGB4bh7Dr5BfCzv-kk85iIcA380aW_haiqVsu0opZxdYHB4kzQkdhjj37laDQhdneJh-I4-Z14ktxqPbNR4XaxfSiwLY/s1600/DSCN3561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnUVu60BkgpP1Ux163CmLLN_RCbMC8R2dH2sahyphenhyphenHVysnWUZpMGB4bh7Dr5BfCzv-kk85iIcA380aW_haiqVsu0opZxdYHB4kzQkdhjj37laDQhdneJh-I4-Z14ktxqPbNR4XaxfSiwLY/s320/DSCN3561.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;"><em>(Maurelio formed this piece off one of the molds pictured in about 30 seconds as we watched)</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">His bestselling item is the storyteller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has sold approximately 2,000 of these pieces a year for the past 10 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sales of all his items have decreased in recent years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has definitely been impacted by the world recession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is one of 5 brothers and they all do this type of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on the level of orders he has, he is able to hire more people to work with him. When he doesn’t have enough orders, he has to find different work to make ends meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_c-ktlaCfOfaD3DZXFH5yedaES8y8JgbYCHT-mZ4eTEYYs1B9OwjFxSclbxLiWt9inmHAA4kIUJBSewRxZ5fr1nzEZHcb9-ys1xVIzO2vlBaOjOdDGsP9vDvn2IxhgR9jYL2OYbexmk0/s1600/DSCN3565.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_c-ktlaCfOfaD3DZXFH5yedaES8y8JgbYCHT-mZ4eTEYYs1B9OwjFxSclbxLiWt9inmHAA4kIUJBSewRxZ5fr1nzEZHcb9-ys1xVIzO2vlBaOjOdDGsP9vDvn2IxhgR9jYL2OYbexmk0/s320/DSCN3565.JPG" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Maurelio holds up his best selling piece. He describes the woman as reading the Bible to children)</span></em></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Manos Amigas and other fair trade export organizations help Maurelio sell his work in the US and other export markets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through Manos Amigas, Maurelio has been selling his pieces to Ten Thousand Villages for 18 years.</span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1J2nR3uaMoUWrqYLs_T8S7pHFk9oAj_lp7Pia6zvB16wwLE_viQS1q5zJDgrJqfpIa3edPXFoId6xfYrqVInjM2VzrX33SJhzirh-K9ZMEkRQROe5Eym4KDDT0D1sj91IcQ1G46JAuis/s1600/DSCN3567.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1J2nR3uaMoUWrqYLs_T8S7pHFk9oAj_lp7Pia6zvB16wwLE_viQS1q5zJDgrJqfpIa3edPXFoId6xfYrqVInjM2VzrX33SJhzirh-K9ZMEkRQROe5Eym4KDDT0D1sj91IcQ1G46JAuis/s320/DSCN3567.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Maurelio holding a nativity scene purchased by Ten Thousand Villages and sold at Global Gifts.)</span></em></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcQ7qXe47oznbecOgH2bPpfc9zCXuR9rOps33rqNUFGCCBG-ng8bEbyOz3E7ZsXz6gjlEsMuJ8LhhJcnY-_NmEXf99qNVhPByH6McJ-dipVKavfLu9hPOtznOqavYi6do19ENkGBQew0/s1600/DSCN3571.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcQ7qXe47oznbecOgH2bPpfc9zCXuR9rOps33rqNUFGCCBG-ng8bEbyOz3E7ZsXz6gjlEsMuJ8LhhJcnY-_NmEXf99qNVhPByH6McJ-dipVKavfLu9hPOtznOqavYi6do19ENkGBQew0/s320/DSCN3571.JPG" width="269" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Maurelio's daughter at the entrance to their home just beyond the workshop.)</span></em></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiv_WlIWElwPrs5YwUqE_OO0LZC9ndBPcrhkr5qAQYSuRa_k25O2UuIs5tng25VpbJNwOOLIMmsJcT1r_hVIIpxTGWDcYvjSIeuf2ZhGElPVNDMScCVT2pLHCfK0uEt_b81nh0oi8M4XA/s1600/DSCN3570.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiv_WlIWElwPrs5YwUqE_OO0LZC9ndBPcrhkr5qAQYSuRa_k25O2UuIs5tng25VpbJNwOOLIMmsJcT1r_hVIIpxTGWDcYvjSIeuf2ZhGElPVNDMScCVT2pLHCfK0uEt_b81nh0oi8M4XA/s320/DSCN3570.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>(Maurelio holding a piece I purchased)</em></span></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-79225110873410710782011-11-02T07:50:00.000-07:002011-11-02T07:50:30.221-07:00Simon Makes Friends<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am amazed at the ease at which Simon makes friends. With his blond hair he certainly stands out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And his smile seems to win folks over with no trouble at all. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9q60GfyZVXQPSs4Vz8b8PXlUzJDsJowLBYy42j_tu1RC6TAulHucoSHyBMUkENglzEmzqmwg9EYjWOtlDmTvxRQp0FdSOhUptIvIDlGKPSfAcRkFcpHnyCEg7AjhzTdS0nmdjXh9wCHM/s1600/DSCN3360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9q60GfyZVXQPSs4Vz8b8PXlUzJDsJowLBYy42j_tu1RC6TAulHucoSHyBMUkENglzEmzqmwg9EYjWOtlDmTvxRQp0FdSOhUptIvIDlGKPSfAcRkFcpHnyCEg7AjhzTdS0nmdjXh9wCHM/s320/DSCN3360.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I appreciate the time he stopped to chat with an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair at the airport and I was impressed when a complete stranger recently handed over her dog so he could walk it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfR5JHdHKqpd24dSmvD_db1Ra-WZM8xXHJ1ltMX1nD-01u7_Mj5NRdGmv2HtBDR7gqAmR3h_aPGpNbb0gk8lCs5kczjhbZcW6UJZVUgyPfmea0i7VnBcUqBOl_TnH9C5hhqdAEMSqpBU/s1600/DSCN3498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfR5JHdHKqpd24dSmvD_db1Ra-WZM8xXHJ1ltMX1nD-01u7_Mj5NRdGmv2HtBDR7gqAmR3h_aPGpNbb0gk8lCs5kczjhbZcW6UJZVUgyPfmea0i7VnBcUqBOl_TnH9C5hhqdAEMSqpBU/s320/DSCN3498.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It was great to hear from Alison how he met a boy close to his age at the playground and they had a good time playing together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJf5IrUoSeH65wYcwtzq_tJs6TZYu-z_vDMxz2hKJ89RY8TjnQh2Mft12j4d_z2bOPNTxjMfvEibtnb2ADrN4uGow3vddSsQ4Cs0VPeBNyf6H3xXsDF_F1uHdUJbQv7zdOUTjuHpLyA8/s1600/DSCN3418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJf5IrUoSeH65wYcwtzq_tJs6TZYu-z_vDMxz2hKJ89RY8TjnQh2Mft12j4d_z2bOPNTxjMfvEibtnb2ADrN4uGow3vddSsQ4Cs0VPeBNyf6H3xXsDF_F1uHdUJbQv7zdOUTjuHpLyA8/s320/DSCN3418.JPG" width="222" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But recently at the Lima airport, Simon found a particularly good friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw a little girl, about his age and ran up to her and stared (his typical approach).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon they were crawling on the ground and giggling together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkPewB47GtyOnGNG237YjFbnD1O9ORy9vXnk5OE6-CcVAbXNBg5XyxyTStSq2iKk165zQc5V4ccXNt1VS_jSmyt1NTA1aCeuzOIrkvhPJO9P2gDBo1fiqcUjvhFQu2h4xf587jQn99Dg/s1600/DSCN3264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkPewB47GtyOnGNG237YjFbnD1O9ORy9vXnk5OE6-CcVAbXNBg5XyxyTStSq2iKk165zQc5V4ccXNt1VS_jSmyt1NTA1aCeuzOIrkvhPJO9P2gDBo1fiqcUjvhFQu2h4xf587jQn99Dg/s320/DSCN3264.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>But heads did turn when the little girl took Simon with both hands and kissed him on the mouth - - repeatedly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simon didn’t seem to mind a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, afterwards he ran in circles laughing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK56qg1IlOXhR5RQ2FUTvtKbU2O5rryEmj_MNTZbKbFhk2-7re-fM2-EVqcjlns9YbE-veuajd-dX5uRlPSpOHeZBYPjpy70G0eKyYx5cJ1_T1kQv7JxHcZT-ZbDgDYoTG2B8VzV6Uvk/s1600/DSCN3267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK56qg1IlOXhR5RQ2FUTvtKbU2O5rryEmj_MNTZbKbFhk2-7re-fM2-EVqcjlns9YbE-veuajd-dX5uRlPSpOHeZBYPjpy70G0eKyYx5cJ1_T1kQv7JxHcZT-ZbDgDYoTG2B8VzV6Uvk/s320/DSCN3267.JPG" width="189" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmF6aP4xRw_cB9A74RX9JWJOVM_uVYJqxOePmu4n1sWg3CtLetgnEPHaO1B-6RvTJe2i6RAxJEj9LvH8fwBeRQ6znYYVYWh8NoLa7RtURdj2zgtGqIWNgFDGTs7qeo0lzHizuLlsIHJh4/s1600/DSCN3269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmF6aP4xRw_cB9A74RX9JWJOVM_uVYJqxOePmu4n1sWg3CtLetgnEPHaO1B-6RvTJe2i6RAxJEj9LvH8fwBeRQ6znYYVYWh8NoLa7RtURdj2zgtGqIWNgFDGTs7qeo0lzHizuLlsIHJh4/s320/DSCN3269.JPG" width="264" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-77211327307259755572011-10-20T19:05:00.000-07:002011-10-20T19:05:44.359-07:00Speaking Spanish with the Japanese<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not proud of it but I do carry some stereotypes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on very limited experience (the foundation of stereotype) my impression of the Japanese has been of tourists who take A LOT of pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t matter really what it is, they want a picture of it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of that, I get the impression they are really into gadgets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s just me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, speaking Spanish (although admittedly I’m a total beginner) has helped me see past stereotype.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our first month in Lima, we stayed with a family that hosted students for the language school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During our stay we lived with 2 Japanese, 1 Canadian (a French speaker), 1 Swiss, 1 Colombian, 2 Peruvians and we of course brought 3 Americans to the mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What struck me about this international brew (among the non-native Spanish speakers) was that as we only communicated in Spanish, it seemed like a neutral territory we all existed and communicated in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some reason it helped me focus more on the person rather than on my preconceived notions of national identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether hearing about what they did that day, their work or the party they went to, hearing it in Spanish helped me get past some of my own stereotypes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow this shared and neutral language helped me feel like we had that much more in common despite our many differences.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVonAc-ghSKCZ-7VV2xbEL3rtuScvd-ewa2dw7pna_kvSicNuzAd4wOLCc-RrGKTx9j17Xa_qbNIfon1srDcuYP73x8UBSdITC30o0oUearvGZ2G0XXN2XTOpiXuzjjKbW2PpALletyc/s1600/DSCN3261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVonAc-ghSKCZ-7VV2xbEL3rtuScvd-ewa2dw7pna_kvSicNuzAd4wOLCc-RrGKTx9j17Xa_qbNIfon1srDcuYP73x8UBSdITC30o0oUearvGZ2G0XXN2XTOpiXuzjjKbW2PpALletyc/s320/DSCN3261.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Transaction:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A month of language school offered more insight and learning than simply improvement in my Spanish.</span></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-21477221318848894082011-10-13T17:40:00.000-07:002011-10-13T17:40:22.572-07:00Introduction to Fair Trade in Peru<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the important reasons I wanted to spend an extended period in Peru was to connect with the artisan and producer side of fair trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Global Gifts works with fair trade wholesalers and our relationships with them are valued and important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it lacks the personal touch of making connections and really understanding what fair trade is about from the producer standpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently at Manos Amigas I had the opportunity to sit in on a training that SERRV sponsored for several of its artisan partners in South America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Representatives from 6 fair trade organizations were present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were: Vilma Allauca with Camari in Ecuador, Eduardo Velasquez with MCCH in Ecuador, Pamela Diaz with Comparte in Chile, Ruth de la Cruz & Flora Mamani with CIAP in Peru, Emilia Anyosa & Maribel Inga with Bridge of Hope in Peru and Yannina Meza & Mario Rietveld with Manos Amigas in Peru.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I asked SERRV if I could come and sit in on a session and be an observer and they said “sure”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Observing is pretty much what I did since my Spanish is still very limited and everything was in Spanish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still it was interesting to hear and see a presentation that focused on the types of product trends we see at Global Gifts on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance,</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Making things out of recycled or reclaimed materials is “hot”, especially if you can give the items a new look and purpose and there is a surprise factor when the person realizes what it is made from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Decorative items are popular especially if they are also functional.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was a big focus on jewelry which is no surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is my understanding that jewelry is biggest sales category in fair trade when you don’t include commodities such as coffee and cocoa. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I asked Maria from SERRV if the representatives attending were designers (the focus of several days of training was on product design).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said no because most groups can’t afford to pay a designer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless, I think the training was an important effort to share information about the US and to a lesser degree the European market that the producers might not otherwise have access to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know SERRV was also able to receive some feedback about what was and wasn’t especially helpful in terms of resources they offered to one of the groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my mind, investing in training and taking the time for honest communication is what fair trade is about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great to see it in practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope I get to see some popular new designs that may be a result of this effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a more personal note, I was able to eke out enough Spanish to introduce myself to Pamela of Comparte and let her know that Alison and I were looking forward to coming and visiting them sometime in the coming months - another adventure to look forward to.</span></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-1978414536291323592011-10-02T18:33:00.001-07:002011-10-02T18:33:18.178-07:009-26-11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last Sunday Alison and I had our first chance to see Manos Amigas and meet Yaninna who is head of the organization and her husband Mario.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We called Yannina Saturday after some unsuccessful attempts to reach her by email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though they were busy preparing to host a training session led by SERRV, they made time for us on Sunday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We were conscious of not wanting to take too much of their time and they were being conscious about wanting to give us a warm greeting despite feeling under pressure to get things done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After chatting for a few minutes and basic introductions, we said, “is there anything we can do to help get ready”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gladly accepted our offer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got more of a tour of the organization as I carried crates from one area to another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alison and Simon met Yaninna and Mario’s 11 year old daughter (Digwi – not sure about the spelling) as they cleaned dishes and filled salt shakers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Digwi and Simon hit it off famously which we were both glad to see.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Up until our visit to Manos Amigas, I had been feeling a bit directionless in Lima.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My main focus has been on studying and learning Spanish and helping to take care of Simon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps I have felt this way because we are currently staying with a family and haven’t moved into our own place yet and because our volunteer work hasn’t begun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At any rate, it was nice to have a task at hand and feel like we were contributing during our initial visit to Manos Amigas.</span></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-23860576035382256912011-10-02T18:32:00.001-07:002011-10-02T18:36:34.229-07:009-22-11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Simon loves to say hello and he has a few ways of doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Miami airport he enjoyed running into groups of people with both hands extended as if to give multiple high-fives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun to see the reaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now after a week in Lima, he waves “hola” and “chao” as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A transaction enjoyed by all.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrh2SSfVi_PA_LiLkeZqOlhlxEnI0lZr2WagadKtVE2fpnFcy17SsD3bJe2fDjNbL3nAQpj5wWlEQN6XgrAB158RpRBK-LPOECmJXQswR8wsoLYcLre5yEWR0LN96kvTbtRunPrBZbVQ/s1600/DSCN3074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrh2SSfVi_PA_LiLkeZqOlhlxEnI0lZr2WagadKtVE2fpnFcy17SsD3bJe2fDjNbL3nAQpj5wWlEQN6XgrAB158RpRBK-LPOECmJXQswR8wsoLYcLre5yEWR0LN96kvTbtRunPrBZbVQ/s320/DSCN3074.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771986518515749319.post-49682959776766515372011-10-02T18:31:00.000-07:002011-10-02T18:31:28.656-07:009-20-11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On September 17, Simon, Alison and I left for our grand adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been granted a one year sabbatical from my job at Global Gifts, during which time we have rented out our house and moved to Lima, Peru.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a month of Spanish language classes we will begin volunteer work with a fair trade organization named Manos Amigas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to our volunteer work, the year will involve travel through South America and eventually to Mexico.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This will be a year of new experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing a blog is one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I went online to set up my blog, I hit a stumbling point when I was required to give my blog a name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will this blog be about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will it be about me and my family’s experiences traveling, about the people we meet, or about my perspectives on fair trade? Most likely it will be some combination of the above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My title of Thoughtful Transactions is a reflection, somewhat biased by my work in fair trade, that so many of our daily interactions are transactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my thinking I’m taking a liberal view of transactions and thinking transactions include many interactions between people, not just those involving money or commerce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At any rate I needed to come up with a name for this blog!</span></div>Sam Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17898226703949123411noreply@blogger.com1