Artisan forum

ARTISAN FORUM Title: Dimensions: Date: Place: Jambalรณ, Colombia

The mission of ARTISAN FORUM is to uplift a community of indigenous Colombian women, and to provide environmentally-friendly traditional handcrafts for ethically conscious consumers.

Primarily, Artisan forum is conformed by indigenous women of the nasa community .Who has survived to the Colombian internal armed conflict, one of the largest internal conflicts in the world. These women have used artisan techniques as peacebuiliding practices in their community.

Our products are of the highest quality, made from renewable materials and tinted with natural dyes. We are dedicated to protecting the environment, using traditional Colombian artisan techniques, and helping alleviate poverty in the indigenous community that crafts our products.

The products exposed in this portfolio are made of Werregue (Astrocaryum standleyanum), a palm located in the Colombian pacific coast. The products are tinted using natural dyes such as achiote (Bixa orellana), leaves of puchicana and clay.

Crafting a better future It was 4:00 am on Monday morning and Maria woke up knowing that her most important task of the morning was to get her 5 year old daughter ready to go to school. Next, she strapped her 6 month old baby to her back to start her day’s work which was collecting the fiber with which she made handicrafts off trees in the rural areas of Jambalo, Cauca. I had the opportunity to meet Maria at a workshop to teach women peacebuilding practices in Jambalo, Colombia, a town severely impacted by the Colombian civil war and the presence of armed groups (guerilla and paramilitary groups).

These women have been affected by the Colombian civil war in many ways: family members have been killed or displaced and some of them have been raped. While I was making my speech, Maria was weaving with the fiber she had collected and was so careful to insert the needle in the right place.

She was so concentrated on what she was doing that at times I was tempted to stop my speech and watch her.

The surprising thing is that Maria was not the only woman in the room weaving. 15 of the 20 women present were weaving something. At the end of the meeting I asked Maria why she was so focused on weaving.

She explained that the only time to weave is when she participates in social workshops and meetings from her indigenous council because while she was working at home, her daily activities do not leave her time to indulge in her passion for weaving and also her male partner did not allow her to work on handicrafts because weaving did not generate any income.

The only thing she needs to do what she loves is: freedom.

Cindy CĂłrdoba Arroyo Founder of Artisan Forum

Title: Pasiรกa (trip) Dimensions: 8,5 x 10 inches Date: May 5th,2016 Place: Jambalรณ, Colombia

Title: Us quiwe (The place) Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches Date: May 5th,2016 Place: Jambalรณ, Colombia

Title: fi’nze (afternoon) Dimensions: 9 inches x 11 inches Date: April 29th,2016 Place: Jambaló, Colombia

Title: Quiwe tujnd (dust road) Dimensions: Materials: Date: 8 x 9 inches Place: Jambalรณ, Colombia

Title: Yaattewe’sh (family) Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches Date: April 22th,2016 Place: Jambaló, Colombia

Title: ShambĂşu (meeting) Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches Date: April 15th,2016 Place: Cali, Colombia

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Eewee (the shooting star) 10 inches April 15th,2016 Jambalรณ, Colombia

Title: Wala (sea) Dimensions: 7,5 x 8 inches Date: April 4th,2016 Place: Jambalรณ, Colombia

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Quite (flower) 10 inches April 4th,2016 Cali, Colombia

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Sec (the sun) 10 inches April 4th,2016 Cali, Colombia

Cxacx uus yaatxnxi

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The preservation of the thought of all us

1. Nasa yuwe language