Visiting the gourd carvers in Peru

May 21, 2009 at 2:26 pm fairtradeliz Leave a comment

At the beginning of April I took a trip to various parts of Peru, including Lima, Huancayo, and Puno, for the Fair Trade company I work for, Lucuma Designs.

The purpose of my visit was to both meet and learn about our artisan groups and to share my experiences (I am a customer service manager) from the states with the group leaders and members & collect marketing materials such as photos and video.

The first group of artisans I visited were our gourd carvers, who live primarily in the outskirts of Huancayo. I wasn’t surprised by the lack of good roads but I was surprised by the lack of addresses! We found houses and workshops by asking people on the street…. But hey you can do that in small towns.

Some of our carving families greeted us with meals of local trout, potatoes, choclo (big corn) and cuy (guinea pig, a delicacy) and others with hugs or handshakes, always smiles. They were excited for our visit. Some of the homes we visited had no working bathrooms, strickly holes in ground, and dirt floors. All people were in need of work – they are feeling the economy just like we are. But it wasn’t just that there are no jobs, there isn’t enough of a job. It’s like trying to live full time and working part time – there’s just not enough to go around.

Lizzet, Rodolfo & family

Although in some groups we didn’t see changes from our last visit, we were happy to witness some great improvements for others. Lizzet and Rodolfo, makers of Lucuma’s Santa gourds , have been able to purchase a home. Right now, it doesn’t have plumbing or concrete floors, but they are aiming for it. At Pablo’s workshop we saw construction on the workshop itself as well as improvements to his home. He even hopes to build a dormitory where his workers can live inexpensively and has initiated several community events for the poorest kids in the neighborhood. Now that’s what fair trade is about– empowering others who empower others.

Baby and Santa