EMPOWERMENT THROUGH CREATIVITY
the The Jicaro Project at El Puente Mission Base offers employment, training, and community to the youth of Young Life (Vida Joven) International Clubs in Granada, Nicaragua. Specializing in the design and production of quality atisanal handcrafts, the project combines sustainable local resources with Nicaragua’s greatest treasure, the hand labor of its people. Proceeds from sales help support struggling youth and their families while providing funds for their Vida Joven Club camp and weekly activities. As an educational addition to the program, community and business leaders share presentations with Project participants regarding job training, character development, and money management. Topics include interview skills, entrepreneurship, saving and budgeting, integrity and work ethic, teamwork, job descriptions, and general testimonies of the work or Christ in our lives.
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Beaded Jewelry
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Jicaro earrings are made right alongside the jicaro bracelets, using jicaro too large for a bracelet or ornament. Each earring is sanded and refined and then matched to make a set. Some earrings are dyed to various colors that complement the already uniquely patterned earring discs.
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Through a conscious effort to waste not, want not, we have found a catching use for the ends of our jicaro bracelets once they’ve been drawn and cut. Gathering sufficient disks to dye, or varnish in their natural beauty, we hand pick beads to complete a blend of jicaro patterns and colors with a modern splash of glass or wood accents. Each belt is hand woven with waxcovered macrame thread and finished with loops for an adjustable, comfortable fit.
The bead program is the second venture of the Jicaro Project. This program focuses on serving two groups: single and struggling mothers and the youth of Vida Joven. The single mothers of the team work primarily with preparatory work, and the youth and leaders of Vida Joven assemble the bracelets.
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Each bracelet has a special, hand chosen set of beads for its enclosure, small beads for the loops and larger glass beads to catch for a stable hold. No two bracelets are the same; each is made with different beads and different hands. And then it becomes only yours... become
*Sizes:
Small (6”-6.5”) Medium (6.5”-7.5”) Large (7.5”-8”)
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Braided Strands
Embellished 3-strand
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Quill Style
Long, Continuous
Just as each bracelet is hand chosen and crafted from paper and glass beads, so too are each of the bead earrings. Some are made specifically to accompany a necklace, but many are simply chosen and matched to glass beads to create an eye-catching ensemble. Currently all of our bead earrings are being made by Maria de Jesus, the first full-time employee of the program. Each participant has taken quite a position of leadership since beginning the project. We are excited to see such growth in all of the women and youth involved.
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Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah 49:26b
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Our ornament collection is as unique as the rest of the items in the Jicaro project. Jicaros are harvested from various trees, supplying jicaro of specific sizes and shapes, including one highly prized tree whose fruits have the classic pointed bottom, reminiscent of vintage Christmas ornaments. As with the bracelets, the ornaments are sanded and varnished to produce a smooth, brilliant surface.
After varnishing, each ornament is painted with a unique pattern or design and given final protective coats of varnish.
Our bowl and box collections boast some of our largest and most decorative jicaros. Each bowl has been carved and refined to serve a purpose for holding items as well as to provide a new element of beauty and artwork to any room. Bowls can be used to decorate a dinner table with food, add florals to a hall, or hold paper clips or pencils on your desk. Mix the jicaro’s natural beauty with your own needs and creativity.
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The Jicaro wind chimes are lovely adornments for any home or office, displaying an elegant jicaro ornament circled by beads and jicaro disks, as well as an option of dolphins optio carved from seeds native to Nicaragua. Chimes hang from a large jicaro, displaying the beauty of their natural patterns and designs. Beads are designs also hand chosen, and ornaments, hand painted, in order to create each unique wind chime.
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Botanica Nicaragua, our batik linen line, emerged after a year of testing dyes, fabrics and designs. We have a beautiful new world of colorful items in the Jicaro Shop that rival the natural beauty of the jicaro natura bracelets and the myriad designs of the bead necklaces. Botanica Nicaragua has grown from napkin sets and table cloths to bags, pillow covers, and wall hangings. Meticulous hours are spent Meticulou drawing, painting, waxing, and soaking in dye baths. The process of one item generally takes about a week and is well worth the wait.
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Pillow Cases ƋƎ
Runners & Table Cloths ƋƏ
Napkin Sets
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We’re proud to introduce loom-woven beaded bracelets to our U.S. based partner stores. Each an individual work of art, these bracelets feature the names of God in Hebrew script. Read right to left, the script stands out subtly or scrip boldly, depending upon the color combinations selected by the artist. Each measures approximately 1 inch wide and contains over a thousand beads, carefully woven over many hours by a young women working to support her education. Though there are many names we hope to eventually include in the collection, we currently offer Jehovah Jireh ( God who provides) and Jehovah Rophe (God who heals). Additional (Go styles include Boucle and Team Mascots. ƋƑ
to know His name ...
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is to know He is God.
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Jehovah God my Provider Jireh
Jehovah God my Healer Rophe ƌƊ
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EL PUENTE | THE BRIDGE GRANADA, NICARAGUA AL FINAL DE CALLE SANTA LUCIA LOCAL PHONE: 8462-4996 U.S. PHONE: 434-227-4917 E-MAIL: SARAHJRK@AOL.COM THEJICAROPROJECT.BLOGSPOT.COM