The Macushi live in the Kanuku Mountains of Guyana, South America– a UNESCO recognized Biosphere Reserve and focus of protection efforts by Conservation International. While in the country for a month, the goal of the “Artisans on Tour Program” will be to maximize opportunities for Valentine to exhibit and sell his communities’ art form of balata carving, as well as to generate publicity for needed “green” business, fair trade income generation, the protection of his mega-diverse home and the value of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Valentine will be flying to New York on September 18th and will be traveling to Washington to participate in the events surrounding the opening of Smithsonian’s new Museum on the Mall the weekend of the 18th. The Forest Foundation will also be exhibiting at The Green Festival in Washington that weekend and Valentine will be providing demonstrations and selling gifts at our booth. Valentine is truly an international treasure, one of the finest artisans and carvers of balata in his village, he sculpts and molds beautiful human and animal figures from the natural rubber. Best sellers have included gorgeous 12 piece nativities with depictions of the Three Kings as indigenous Macushi; and a beautiful ark (as featured in the 2002 Green Mountain Coffee catalog, See picture), with Noah, his family and brilliantly sculpted animals of the South American rainforest, two by two! Other art pieces include giant versions of the individual animals, each with personality, and depictions of village life in the Nappi Village where he and the other artisans live.

Natural rubber, or balata, comes from a family of trees called Sapotacea, that produce a latex sap that acts as a sticky defense when the tree is injured. “Balateros,” those who harvest the balata for a living, knick the trees from the top down, scaling the 120 ft. trees to their high branches, creating rivulets of the sap that slowly drip to the base of the tree, where it is collected in pouches. Balateros are professionals that carefully nick the tree so that it does not kill it, and thus they can return to “sustainably tap” the tree again in subsequent years, much like maple trees in our North America. The balata is taken to processing areas where is heated and water is driven off. Bricks of the balata are then carried out of the forest and sold to artisans like Valentine, or the
Page Two TFF Press Release 8/04

artisans tap the trees themselves. The production, purchase and sale of the balata products are a source of income sustainably harvested from the forest. The income generated goes far to supplement desperately needed funds for the Macushi people, who live inside the borders of one of the most important protected areas in the world, the Kanuku mountains– home to the largest population of raptors in the Americas, the Harpy Eagle, and numerous other endangered species.

The Forest Foundation is currently looking for generous donors to sponsor of Valentine’s Artisan tour, and will offer the opportunity for exhibition and demonstrations at zoos in NY and Washington, as well as to conservation group offices, university art programs and craft events. Stores who have purchased the Macushi figures in the past include: The Cathedral Shop, NYC; Crossroads Global Handcrafts, IL; Gossypia, VA; Nativities.com; Susan’s Christmas Shop, NM; The Peaceable Kingdom, RI; and One World Projects.

For more information about how you can help, please contact The Forest Foundation at (919)957-1505 or e-mail info@theforestfoundation.org. (Valentine and Eleanor at a craft festival in Guyana).

“One World Market in Durham and 10,000 Villages in Raleigh have grown and prospered over the last ten years. It is time for Chapel Hill to join the ranks of progressive communities with a fair trade store— using a market-based model to assist artisans and crafts people all over the world with market access and poverty alleviation. The store would be a great asset for the community, where students and faculty alike can find a place of continuity for fair trade, environmental and social justice activism. In addition, the store could be a center for student and faculty research and training on small business models and sustainable development.”

The goal is to model the store on Global Exchange in San Francisco , a leader in progressive community action and involvement (see www.globalexchange.org). The Fair Trade Store would like be a member of Ten Thousand Villages and SERRV. It will provide vital, fair income to Third World people by importing and selling their handicrafts and telling their stories. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing for under-employed and low-income artisans. Chapel Hill, NC is the only community in the Triangle that does not currently have a fair trade store. Being a college town, a fair trade could serve multiple missions in community education, student education and activism and a focal point for building more sustainable communities. A thorough market study should be conducted to determine if the community will support such a venture and the types of goods and services needed and that should be offered.

The Fair Trade Store and Cafe, Chapel Hill operated by The Forest Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, as a marketing program that sells handcrafted items made by economically impoverished people in developing regions of the world. The name comes from its main goal: to create economic opportunities that help people to help themselves. The Fair Trade Store is designed to benefit craftspeople by providing jobs with dignity, and sees the production and marketing of crafts as good way to meet human needs and address unjust living conditions around the world.

The goal will be to raise consumer awareness and increase market share of fairly trade, sustainably made goods. The Store would be modelled after Global Exchange in San Francisco, which combines retail stores with education and activism. Global Exchange has offered assistance in the form of bringing staff to aid in structural and development components and education, as well as creating partner a partner or affiliate relationship.

The Fair Trade Store, Chapel Hill is a part of a 175 store network that sells products under the guidelines of the Fair Trade Federation and International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT). Each store is operated by a nonprofit organization that depends upon the support of volunteers to insure that the profits of the sale of Third World products are benefiting the producer and not the sellers. Durham has One World Market and Raleigh has Ten Thousand Villages, creating the third fair trade store in the Triangle. Fair traders pay producers fair prices for their goods. They do not exploit people or the environment The Fair Trade Store, Chapel Hill partners with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and SERRV whose primary activities are the purchase, import, and sale of handicrafts from impoverished artisans. During the Fiscal Year 1999, MCC sold over 17 million dollars of retail products in the U.S. and Canada with the profits providing approximately 13,000 full time jobs for a full year for Third World artisans.

The Fair Trade Store will open in downtown Chapel Hill on the main street across from the University of North Carolina. This store offers a unique opportunity for Chapel Hill to be “international partners” with the people who produce the crafts. The store will offer not only the high quality handicrafts, clothes and furniture from over 30 Third World countries but will promote the mission of fair trade and certification and seek to involve our community in an educational and economic partnership. The benefit (i.e. profit) from the sales, if any, inures exclusively to the artisans themselves, as no surplus from the sales is retained by any private individual.

It was a major “work-out” for TFF’s staff, but well worth it. The weather was beautiful all days and it was a great opportunity to interact with students, faculty, staff and a host of other progressive organizations in our community. TFF hopes that the Triangle can host one of Co-op America/Global Exchange Green Festivals to raise the level of dialogue and find the resources needed to move many of these progressive causes further along. (see www.greenfestivals.com)

Duke’s event was hosted by the Environmental Internship Fund (EIF), a group of students raising money to provide stipends for summer internships for environmental students. The previous week, TFF and Forests of the World (FOW) donated and sold over a thousand dollars worth of crafts to EIF for their annual silent auction. TFF talked with numerous students and handed out lots of literature on fair trade, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, faeaturing Global Exchange’s 10 ways to Democratize the Global Economy (see www.globalexchange.com). “What’s amazing to me,” commented TFF’s President “is how some students are so “in tune” with these issues, yet many, as educated as they are, don’t have a clue of their seriousness and pressing need for change. Curriculum most be integrated across the campus with the principals of sustainable livelihoods. Every student leaving the university has to be exposed to these ideas and learn to embody them in their daily practices.”

UNC’s event the following week was sponsored by the Student Environmental Action Coalition, SEAC, and had a great diversity of organizations represented, though with more student involvement than Duke. But by far, NC State had the greatest turn-out, with several professors actually bringing their classes to the brickyard to interact and learn from the many organizations represented. Venders and booths covered a wide range of issues, truly representing how environmental sustainability affects us all. State is very close to the point of hiring a Sustainability Coordinator, like UNC’s and Duke’s recent position. When that happens the three universities will lead the Triangle in integrating sustainability across facilities and academic environments, and ideally, extend the principals into the communities around these institutions.

TFF’s booth at the Durham Earth Day Event was swamped the whole day with friends stopping by to chat, people intrigued with all the beautiful products for sale and listening to the complex but fundamental mission of the Foundation. Other exhibitors included One World Market, another fair trade retailer; SEEDS; The Scrap Exchange; and The People’s Alliance. TFF was happy to be nested between both the Piedmont Biofuels cooperative(see http://biofuels.coop/index.php) from Pittsboro and a renewable energy booths. The Biodiesel presentation and converted car were fascinating, and along with the hybrid Toyata Prius and Honda Civic, pointed the way to our common future, which is not so unattainable and far off as we may believe. Jonathan Davis, one of TFF’s volunteers was so excited, he plans to start a biodiesel project in his garage! TFF was able to “schmooze” with other activist organizations and was glad to hear of the plan to build a new covered Farmer’s Market and demonstration kitchen/incubator with Central Park. TFF’s is promoting the investment in an organic food processing, drop site and re-distribution facility downtown, which would fit nicely into Central Park’s plan.

Sferra Brothers is a company based in Edison, NJ, that produces and imports high-end, hand-embroidered, fine linens from around the world and sells them to leading retailers. The CEO, Paul Hooker, became infatuated with the Island of Madagascar and its hard-working and talented people during a recent business development trip sponsored by the U.S.-Madagascar Business Alliance. The money to The Foundation will be used to help establish a Fair Trade Association in Madagascar. The goal of the organization will be to help artisans access markets, improve communication and promote sustainability (See www.IFAT.org).

The money will also be used to help determine a “living wage” for artisans in the raffia industry, and identify constraints to the industry’s ability to compete globally. Raffia is a naturally growing palm found throughout Madagascar. Its fiber is cut, dried, died, loomed, hand woven and sewn into crafts, which in turn are used for domestic consumption and sold internationally. The value-added use of this renewable material is an excellent source of supplemental income for rural communities. The majority of the craftspeople are women, and the support of these products and this industry allows money to filter out into biologically rich, yet poor regions of the country, while also empowering women.

The Fair trade model is an excellent one for assisting artisans in development. It promotes a socio-economic interaction that places fairness, worker health and environment on an equal footing as price and quality. These additional values are certified, allowing the consumer to make a decision that supports a “chain of custody,” or interactions, that promote a more sustainable form of economic development. A “living wage” is critical to determining the true cost of a person’s time working in a field cultivating rice for their family, caring for children and family at home, collecting non-timber forest products from the jungle or manufacturing raffia palm, hand-bags produced and traded for women around the world.

Madagascar is considered by many to be the “jewel” of the planet, more biologically and culturally diverse than any other place. Sadly, poverty, overpopulation, corruption and mismanagement of its natural resources have contributed to producing one of the lowest standards of living in the world. This contrasts starkly with the beauty of the countryside and the creativity and artistry of its people. Over 20 languages are spoken throughout the island and each is distinctive linguistically. The island was recently hit by a tropical cyclone, killing hundreds, destroying tens of thousands of homes and damaging bridges and roads. (http://www.embassy.org/madagascar/; http://www.careusa.org/vft/madagascar/ )

For more information about The Forest Foundation, please contact The Forest Foundation at (919)957-1505 or e-mail info@theforestfoundation.org.

The Foundation set up a booth during the conference and its President, Marc Dreyfors, presented a talk on the Agricultural Panel entitled, “A Values Crises in the Marketplace: The Case for Sustainable Livelihoods.” Open to both University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University faculty and students, the conference was divided into four panel sessions: Agriculture, Eco-Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry. Panelists included leading academic scholars and international trade advisors.

Mr. Dreyfors spoke to the crises that exist in today’s marketplace and the failure of the market and consumers to value environmental goods and services, as well as fair trade and other socially important components of trade. America’s lust for cheap goods is contributing to a race to the bottom as increased competition drive manufacturers overseas to take advantage of low labor prices and lax environmental law enforcement. The ease of movement of international investment capital, subsidies and lack of regulation lend to “fuel being thrown on the fire” of resource depletion and the growing gap between rich and poor. Key will be educating consumers, forcing China to float its currency, reform of international trade agreements and the focus on promotion of sustainable livelihoods, where each of us “vote every day” for the world we wish our children to inherit. (see www.livelihoods.org)

Also presenting in the Agriculture Session were: Edward Millard, Director of Enterprise Programs at Conservation International, a premier international environmental group with which the Foundation has worked. Panelists included a member of RAFI-USA (Rural Advancement Foundation International), who gave an inspiring talk on the problems facing farmers in North Carolina and around the world with increasing monopoly control by giant agri-businesses; and an agricultural economist from NC State, who pointed out that environmental externalities and resource depletion are, from an efficiency standpoint, better addressed at the local level rather than through trade agreements.

The Conference keynote address was provide by the Director of the Tropical Research Institute at Yale University . The lecture highlighted nearly 30 years of research on illegal logging on the Island of Borneo in Indonesia. Even with excellent data from remote sensing and ground truthing on the complexity of the forest, nothing could stop the wholesale harvesting of one of the world’s most important ecosystems. 94% of the lowland forest was depleted with little international protest– a forest if properly managed could have provided income for local communities and the development of the desperately poor nation for future generations. Graft and corruption was central, along with a “look the other way” mentality by international organizations, like World Bank and IMF. Closing remarks were made by Dr. Stuart Pimm, Conservation Ecologist, Duke University, who is on the Board of The National Geographic Society.

The Lazar Foundation of Portland Oregon which supports innovative projects addressing environmental protection, sponsored SIDG’s Spring Conference, in addition to their bi-monthly lectures and a student intern. For more information about The Forest Foundation, Duke University’s SIDG, and other up-coming conferences/programs sponsored by either organization, please call The Forest Foundation at (919)957-1505 or e-mail info@theforestfoundation.org.

Since its beginning in 2001, through its two service areas-education and green business development- the organization has reached over 100,000 people providing booths at local events such as the annual North Carolina State Fair and Durham Earth Day Festival, as well as, a permanent retail booth each weekend at the Fairgrounds Flea Market. At these locations attendees can purchase handmade, fairly traded crafts and also pickup informational handouts which further address the issues of how consumers can affect the global economy.

The tour illuminated the many negative affects that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization’s (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas’(FTAA) negotiations have had thus far on the Mexican working families, their economy and environment. The tour looked at issues of poverty, tourism, fishing, water privatization, forest conservation, and indigenous rights, and preceded the scheduled meeting of WTO’s trade ministry in Cancun from Sept. 10th -14th. Tour participants visited with social workers, local farmers, a fishing cooperative, and sustainable forestry project of an “ejido” (a cooperative form of land management found established Mexico during their Revolution at the turn of the Century.)

WTO and FTAA commenced this round of negotiations after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began in 1994. WTO focuses on a global trade, while FTAA is working on a new, hemisphere- wide “free trade” agreement. These organizations have delegates from nearly every country in the world, posing as entities that support and promote global growth and prosperity. However, in reality these organizations have been undemocratic, actually negotiating much of the control of the global economy into corporate hands and providing no assistance to soften the impacts of open markets on various socio-economic sectors or the environment.

On a broad level the negative affects of these trade agreements have been startling from environmental degradation, loss of jobs, suppression of labor wages, to changes in demographics and mass migration. Closer to home, NAFTA’s effects on North Carolina have been dramatic, with tens of thousands of NC-based jobs having moved over the border or overseas in search of cheaper labor, resources and often un-enforced and poor environmental regulation. North Carolina has one of the fastest growing Latino populations in the country. Many illegal immigrants are farmers who have lost their land or been displaced, due to dumping of subsidized corn by U.S. companies or the collapse in global commodity prices, such as coffee. Rural economic development in developing countries, as well as in our own state, have been and will be heavily impacted by these free trade agreements. Free trade is not Fair trade. Little has been done to internalize external costs of trade.

Global Exchange, based in San Francisco, California, is a non-profit international human rights organization. They sponsor efforts such as reality tours, as a way for people to learn and understand about how political and economic forces are impacting human rights, and how citizens can act to reclaim a democratic process and promote “fair trade” that supports social justice, peace, sustainable livelihood and a clean environment. The Forest Foundation, based in Durham, NC, is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization that works to promote and support biodiversity conservation through model programs in education, sustainable business, rural economic development, and fair trade.

For more information about the FTAA, WTO, or the WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico, check out the following contacts:

• http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto
• http://cancun.mediosindependientes.org/.
  ]]> http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-alternative-development-tour-at-wtoftaa-meeting-in-cancun-mexico-2/feed/ 0 http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-african-growth-and-opportunities-act-agoa-forum-in-washington-dc/ http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-african-growth-and-opportunities-act-agoa-forum-in-washington-dc/#comments Wed, 10 Sep 2003 04:00:26 +0000 admin http://theforestfoundation.org/uncategorized/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-african-growth-and-opportunities-act-agoa-forum-in-washington-dc/ From December 6th – 8th, The Forest Foundation, a Durham-based organization, was invited to participate in the African Growth and Opportunities Act Forum in Washington, D.C. The controversial AGOA legislation was passed during the Clinton Administration to assist in economic development of Africa and to address the growing crises in HIV-AIDS and underdevelopment of the continent.

  A key component under AGOA is that imports from identified nations receive special duty and tariff reductions. As well, companies wanting to do business in Africa are given lavish investment advantages. The conference was divided into three divisions: ministerial level, government to government talks; non-governmental organizations (NGO) addressing social issues; and business and enterprise development.

  The Foundation participated in the Hand Craft track of the Business Development division, where artisans from over 20 countries were brought to D.C. for a series of training seminars and opportunities to network with and sell crafts to several large buyers, including TJ Maxx, Smithsonian Stores and Eziba.com, as well as to other smaller importers. The fact that crafts were being addressed as a mechanism for development was a great achievement. However, some large buyers are known for unfair trade practices: playing producers off against one another, beating them down on prices to gain volume discounts (a concept foreign to most artisans who gain few advantages with larger orders) and taking advantage of artisans who do not understand or calculate the true value of their labor.

  There was much controversy over the Agri-business track, which was heavily represented and supported by U.S. multi-national corporations, like Con-Agra, Monsanto and Hershey’s (West Africa is the largest producing region for cacao, a portion of which is known to be harvested by child labor). Controversy centers on the requirement of African nations to extend lenient trade terms to U.S. businesses, where large corporations can exert their comparative advantage. In addition, these agri-businesses can take advantage of poor regulations in these developing countries, which are desperate for investment, to introduce genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) as well as industrial agricultural systems for increased food production. Though these countries are in great need of improved efficiency in food production to feed growing populations on less land, while reducing devastating pressures on their biologically diverse resources, it is questionable whether western-styled, high-input, agri-systems hold as much promise as more localized, sustainable, mixed, agro-forestry regimes. Of great concern is the impact AIDs (as well as political instability and global climate change) will have on agricultural production as working age populations die, leaving only the very young and old to work the fields.

  Many African representatives voiced despair that U.S. trade representatives were not hearing them and their concerns over the “one sided” negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Many realized that without Europe and the U.S. reducing subsidies to their own agricultural sectors and reducing tariffs on foreign goods, Africa was never going to be able to compete, or develop. As well, African artisans who produce brilliant variety of textiles and crafts were having difficulty in the global market because of the competitive advantage of Asia in manufacturing, cheap labor and China’s success in keeping its currency artificially low, making goods from other countries seem high.

  The Foundation’s goal in attending was to identify fair trade, producer groups and artisans working in natural fibers and in areas of high biodiversity. The Foundation initiated a relationship with a Rwandan PEACE basket project dedicated to assisting rural women in recovery from the horrible genocide, where over 1 million people had been killed. Women have had to take up the burden of rebuilding their country because of the high mortality of men during the conflict. After recent elections, over half of Rwanda’s parliament is now represented by women! Rwanda is also home to the last populations of the highly endangered Mountain Gorillas, who have also suffered from warfare, bush-meat trade and political instability of their brethren. Wild populations of gorillas are expected to go extinct in the next 20 years. Political instability has lead to reduced tourism visitation, an important source of revenue for these nations.

  The Forest Foundation, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization that works to promote and support sustainable livelihoods through model programs in environmental education, green business, and fair trade.

  ]]> http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-african-growth-and-opportunities-act-agoa-forum-in-washington-dc/feed/ 0 http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-alternative-development-tour-at-wtoftaa-meeting-in-cancun-mexico/ http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-alternative-development-tour-at-wtoftaa-meeting-in-cancun-mexico/#comments Wed, 10 Sep 2003 04:00:07 +0000 admin http://theforestfoundation.org/uncategorized/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-alternative-development-tour-at-wtoftaa-meeting-in-cancun-mexico/ From September 3rd – 8th, The Forest Foundation, a Durham based organization, participated in the “Whose Trade Organization?”, a reality tour through the Yucatan of Mexico, sponsored by Global Exchange.

  The tour illuminated the many negative affects that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), World Trade Organization’s (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas’(FTAA) negotiations have had thus far on the Mexican working families, their economy and environment. The tour looked at issues of poverty, tourism, fishing, water privatization, forest conservation, and indigenous rights, and preceded the scheduled meeting of WTO’s trade ministry in Cancun from Sept. 10th -14th. Tour participants visited with social workers, local farmers, a fishing cooperative, and sustainable forestry project of an “ejido” (a cooperative form of land management found established Mexico during their Revolution at the turn of the Century.)

  WTO and FTAA commenced this round of negotiations after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began in 1994. WTO focuses on a global trade, while FTAA is working on a new, hemisphere- wide “free trade” agreement. These organizations have delegates from nearly every country in the world, posing as entities that support and promote global growth and prosperity. However, in reality these organizations have been undemocratic, actually negotiating much of the control of the global economy into corporate hands and providing no assistance to soften the impacts of open markets on various socio-economic sectors.

  On a broad level the negative affects of these trade agreements have been startling from environmental degradation, loss of jobs, suppression of labor wages, to changes in demographics and mass migration. Closer to home, NAFTA’s effects on North Carolina have been dramatic, with tens of thousands of NC-based jobs having moved over the border or overseas in search of cheaper labor, resources and often un-enforced and poor environmental regulation. North Carolina has one of the fastest growing Latino populations in the country. Many illegal immigrants are farmers who have lost their land or been displaced, due to dumping of subsidized corn by U.S. companies or the collapse in global commodity prices, such as coffee. Rural economic development in developing countries, as well as in our own state, will be heavily impacted by these free trade agreements. Free trade is not Fair trade.

  Global Exchange, based in San Francisco, California, is a non-profit international human rights organization. They sponsor efforts such as reality tours, as a way for people to learn and understand about how political and economic forces are impacting human rights, and how citizens can act to reclaim a democratic process and promote “fair trade” that supports social justice, peace, sustainable livelihood and a clean environment. The Forest Foundation, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization that works to promote and support biodiversity conservation through model programs in education, sustainable business, rural economic development, and fair trade.

  For more information about the FTAA, WTO, or the WTO meeting in Cancun, Mexico, check out the following contacts:

  http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto

  http://cancun.mediosindependientes.org/

  ]]> http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/09/10/the-forest-foundation-participates-in-alternative-development-tour-at-wtoftaa-meeting-in-cancun-mexico/feed/ 0 http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/01/01/the-forest-foundation-invited-to-colombia-to-assist-in-craft-development/ http://theforestfoundation.org/events/2003/01/01/the-forest-foundation-invited-to-colombia-to-assist-in-craft-development/#comments Wed, 01 Jan 2003 04:00:56 +0000 admin http://theforestfoundation.org/uncategorized/2003/01/01/the-forest-foundation-invited-to-colombia-to-assist-in-craft-development/ The Forest Foundation, a Durham-based non-profit, was invited to participate in the International Craft Fair in Bogota, Colombia, sponsored by the Community of Andean Nations and the Government of Colombia’s craft development agency, Artesania de Colombia.

  The Foundation’s President and Board member, Marc Dreyfors, traveled to Colombia as a guest and spent 5 days in the country. The Fair featured artisans from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Though not as diverse with Colombian artisans as the annual December Bogota show (spectacular in indigenous cultures and craft materials used), seeing so many different cultures in one location was a treat. The fair was held in the Plaza de Artesania, a specially built, semi-outdoor, open market using bamboo and innovative architecture for which Colombia has now become famous.

  Sadly, the undercurrents of the US drug war and the impacts of unsustainable development were readily apparent. Two million people have been displaced in Colombia, of which the majority are women and children desperately seeking income, with some turning to crafts. As far as safety, Colombia is not exactly a vacation paradise for the family! Heavily armed guards checked for bombs, and the trade representatives did many things to make us feel comfortable and safe. Travel by car was highly risky in most parts of the country, so visiting the artisans was very difficult. This is very sad because Colombia is very beautiful and diverse in geography and cultures.

  For many artisans, it was their first large tradeshow, a step-up from the traditional markets on the side of the road, or maybe in the nearest city. The artisans were excited to talk with wholesale buyers from all over the world, many were invited as guests of the governments. Most were as prepared and professional as any from US shows. It was amazing to see their skills in negotiation, reading body language and their pride and pleasure at being singled out to “work deals” with foreign buyers. Most had relatively good sales materials (at least business cards, and many with email), and excellent booth merchandizing.

  If anything, it was the design that one came away with as revolutionary. Of course, there were exquisite textiles, using traditional styles and iconography a thousand years old with amazing workmanship. But what was unique and very apparent was the degree to which many traditional artisans were integrating old styles into new designs. If South America has a competitive advantage it may be in its textiles, and in some cases, its design ready for international markets. Though pricing and production may continue to be a problem in a world rapidly globalizing, there is much potential. With continued assistance in product development and marketing, some producers may go international. But not to be undervalued, many were seeing success in local and national markets.

  For the artisans it was a great opportunity to get experience with international markets, how to exhibit at a tradeshow, and do some “corporate espionage” on what other artisans in other countries were doing. Of note were: a beautiful, handmade paper project produced by Colombian refugees; batik pillow cases, shopping bags and placemats using traditional Peruvian Inca iconography with very beach-like, fun colors; alpaca wool, cotton (Bolivia) and silk (Colombia) shawls, using natural dyes and spectacular herringbone weaves, that made the product look extremely sophisticated; and finally, beautiful bags, using natural fibers, like “iraca,” “toquilla,” “canaflecha,” sisal” and others, and some with a touch of leather.

  Though the production and tanning of leather is very abusive on workers and the environment (use of toxic and polluting chemicals and high cancer rates), the small use provided a touch of fashion. In Colombia, there are some producers that are ISO 9000 certified, and the hope is that fair trade and forest certification will follow soon. It is also interesting to note that the silk project in Colombia is in the coffee growing region, providing supplemental incomes for coffee picking families in an industry that has been devastated by the collapse of coffee prices.

  Aid to Artisans was represented and was busy putting together their USAID funded craft development project in the southern region of the Colombia, where the coca growing is centered right now. It is hard to imagine that a farmer will shift to craft development, as beneficial as it may be, given the return on investment. One of the most exciting aspects of the Fair was the presence of IFAT representatives and FTF importers. It is these types of relationships that hold great promise for some producers. Though governments will probably look at sales volume to measure their success, they need to look at long-term impacts and realize that most of the producers exhibiting cannot feed the supply chain of Pier 1 (whose buyers were present). Artisans will need to compete with design, quality and build long-term trade relations with importers, relationships that over time may grow to fill larger market needs.

  Mr. Dreyfors was offered an opportunity of a lifetime and was invited to visit the canaflecha producers as a guest of the President of Colombia’s son, who was starting his own business to sell canaflecha crafts. The President’s family was from the region in Northern Colombia, and canaflecha is one of four Andean Nation projects receiving funding support to improve production of the crafts. Indeed, from interviews, raw material prices were increasing. Increased demand for finished goods and reduced fiber production was causing raw material prices to double, squeezing the artisans, barely covering their labor costs. Growers of the fiber have been unable to plant this year because of a very long and extremely unusual drought in their region, (which may be attributable to global climate change).

  Colombia sits at the top of South America between major eco-regions: the Amazon basin, the Pacific lowland and Andean tropics and the Central American corridor. The Andes mountains splits into two “cordilleras” creating a high, central valley that tapers to sea level in the north. As you pass from the from the lowland hot and humid tropics up and over those 10-15,000 foot snow covered mountains, climate cools and the plant species change. The people living in these regions depend on the plant communities unique to those regions, developing techniques for cultivation and use of their materials that identify them specifically with those areas. Colombia is a mega-diverse in natural fibers, having as many palm species as Brazil, a country four times as big! Many cultures of these Andean nations are “palm cultures,” everything they make and use for day-to-day living is made from different species and parts of palms. Many cultures are dependent on the diversity of plants for use in everyday life. Conserving these ecosystems is critical to the development of sustainable livelihoods for theses countries.

  As a development tool, crafts make a huge impact, and the governments of Andean Nation’s know it. No other industry has the effect on poverty alleviation, self-sufficiency, women’s empowerment and the multiplier impact than crafts. So many people are affected when raw materials are cultivated, sold, value-added by the hard-work of artisans and sold again. From the natural fibers raised with care to the natural dyes used to color them to the equipment purchased to increase quality and production capacity, a dollar spent in craft development “packs a punch.” That is why the Craft fair was an achievement in itself. We can only hope that our country will realize the hypocrisy of our drug war and invest in development and trade that makes a difference.

  For more information about The Forest Foundation, please contact The Forest Foundation at (919)957-1505 or e-mail info@theforestfoundation.org.

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