‘We walked 30 minutes down the beach to very informal seaside restaurant called Vista del Pacífico. There, we chose freshly caught snapper and lobsters out of a cooler, and half an hour later were eating them at rustic wooden tables on a platform built on the sand. It was like a setting for a Corona commercial, and the whole meal cost about as much as a Corona.’  – Frugal Traveler, NY Times.  Click here to read more!

I was doing a search for Silvio Rodriguez, one of my all time favorite singers and came up with this video.  I can’t understand most of his lyrics due to my sub par Spanish, but to give myself a bit of credit his songs are amazingly profound and poetic which basic Spanish skills are not sufficient.  Here’s Silvio Rodriguez singing just around the time of the Contra war in Nicaragua.

Canción Urgente para Nicaragua

“Not only are Via Nativa’s artisans fairly paid and treated with respect but the company also donates food, clothing and medicine to these rural villages twice a year. It’s kinda like the premium version of fair trade.”  Click here to read more!

Vianativa.com has been down for almost an entire month!  Thanks to a great friend it is back up and running!

During this time I’ve been posting on  Facebook.  Click the link to see photos and read about my past trip.  You’ll see photos from a gallery I lived at where every morning school kids were outside my window (a window which lead to another part of the gallery) every morning at 8 am.  And I’m not complaining!  It was amazing to be surrounded by creativity from morning ’til night!

Stay tuned for new jewelry on vianativa.com!

Puerto Cabezas Journal – List of Grievances Grows Into Independence Claim in Nicaragua – NYTimes.com

“A budding separatist movement among some indigenous people is giving the Nicaraguan government headaches and rekindling some of the ire from the contra war…”

Monday, I rented a car and drove to Ciudad Sandino, where the factory of Simplemente Madera is located; just a few kilometers outside of Managua. Simplemnte Madera designs and manufactures elegant yet simple and eco friendly furniture. I decided why not take their left over wood and deliver it to the artisans we are working with. Now, they can make jewelry with wood that wasn’t going to be used. See below for photos from my trip to Simplemente Madera.

Simplemente Madera Factory

Views from Ciudad Sandino

Model House

Ripios de Madera or Left Over Wood

My second day in Nicaragua was quite efficient. As my first day was not. My plane arrived an hour late at about 3pm, but that was made up for in the airport; customs and baggage claim is ultimately a breeze compared to JFK, Miami International and others. Right after being deposited at a quaint hotel in Barrio Marta Quesada I took out Cordobas and got a cell phone which I am able to borrow from friends. Made calls to artisans I have worked with in the past and set up meetings for the next day. Now that I think about it my first day back in Managua was fairly effecient.

The following images are of two places I visited yesterday. The first two images are of wood jewelry artisans in Masaya, Nicaragua and the other two photos are of Wilmer an artisan who makes seeded jewelry and seeds from the Guapinol tree in Nicaragua. He is located in the north of Managua. Tomorrow I will see some of the samples he is making for me and saturday I will see wood earring and ring samples — anxiously waiting…

Son of Francisco Tikay Making Wood Pendants

Workshop of Francisco Tikay

Wilmer Zeledon works with all native seeds from Nicaragua

Guapinol Seeds

I’ll be on my way to Nicaragua in just a few hours!

I am very excited to get back there and work with artisans.  I haven’t been there in more than a year now — I’m anxious to get new items and designs into the market place and available to our customers.  We will further our work with more sustainable materials such as Ojoche which is a spalted wood from Nicaragua, and will look into reclaimed and discarded wood.  We will also work with a variety of native seeds from Nicaragua.

Will write again in a few days to share my photos of artisans, their workshops and some sample designs…  Oh, the suspense!

Alessandra

Here’s a link to the article I’ve meaning to blog about for a while. NY Times, 14 September 2008

Potters for Peace or Ceramica por la Paz is an organization based in Nicaragua which we have worked with to create tea cups, mugs and espresso cups. Last September Potters for Peace was mentioned in an article about a determined, yet incredibly practical man, Ron Rivera. Along with Potters for Peace he produced ceramic water filters to purify water in countries where a strong percentage of the population does not have daily access to clean, potable water. He lived in Managua, Nicaragua since the 80′s and passed away in early September.

Ron Rivera

Please read the article which I archived above. It goes into greater depth about his achievements and work with Potters for peace.

Martin Robleto of Potters for Peace

When we started our work with artisans exactly two years ago; Martin (pronounced, Martine) was one of the first we met and collaborated with in Nicaragua. Potters for peace is an organization which commenced as a result of the Iran Contra Affair. …Where to put it simply, pro-socialist or Sandanistas and anti-socialists or Contras fought against each other in the 80′s. It is estimated that 30,000 Nicaraguans died in the war. The organization is almost entirely run by Veterans of the “Contra” war in Nicaragua, hence the name Potters for Peace.

Here are some of the ceramics we have created with Potters for Peace:

'Artisan' Mugs: great for tea, or a nice cold beer Sold Out

Espresso Cups

Tea Cups With Filter

Paz,

Alessandra