The photo below was taken last week with the artisans at Puca Urquillo Bora in...
October 17, 2017
The photo below was taken last week with the artisans at Puca Urquillo Bora in the Ampiyacu River area.
I'm off to Chino on the Tahuayo River today to visit the artisans who make the beautiful chambira baskets. Yully and 20 other artisans will arrive on Thursday for our next Artisan Leadership Program workshop. This one will focus on natural resource management so we'll spend a few days going into fields and forests to help the artisans learn how to inventory and use their resources as efficiently as possible. No internet for a week so check back next Tuesday. Good wishes to all.
"While concepts like punctuality, mutual respect, no put downs of self or others, and listening when someone else is speaking may seem like obvious guidelines to form a positive community, a commitment to actually practice and hold each other accountable to observe these agreements is profound in a culture where showing up late, malicious gossip, and interrupting a speaker are painfully common."
"Artisan facilitators should of course share what they know, but beginning and experienced artisans all benefit by remaining humble, enthusiastic about learning, and committed to encourage and affirm their fellow artisans. So many artisans said that the thing they most wanted to bring back to their communities was this spirit of working in a mutually supportive environment."
"Both men and women wore garb made with bleached llanchama tree bark painted with graphic figures from Bora clans. Several wore headdresses made with the feathers from macaws and parrots. They discussed the importance of nature and craft-making in their culture and then launched into a lively dance where the men chanted and pounded sticks into the ground to the rhythm of moving around in a circle. Visitors joined the undulating lines to share the vibrant energy."
