Traditionally, and for generations, mask making has been a male dominated activity. Only very recently, some women in Boruca have become interested in painting masks but it is still rare to see one carving.

Sugey started playing with paint brushes at a young age inspired by her godmother. After marrying Marcos in 2005, she easily picked up new techniques from him while falling in love with mask painting. Orchids are her specialty as she enjoys replicating different varieties with intricate details.

Loly dries and boils the jicara fruit for hours to cure and clean it. Then she envisions her animal, carving the legs, head and tail in balsa wood. Her grandson works alongside her, adding the color.

Fair Trade gifts have a magical power to open our hearts by creating meaningful connections between us conscious consumers and crafters far away. They help us get in touch with our own humanity by reminding us we are one big world family. All of us have the ability to open our hearts and wish for others, what we wish for ourselves.

Raquel Sanabria García grew up admiring her parents’ ability to create beautiful gourd art. So, as she grew, so did her love and talent in creating gourd art.

In 2004, Ester joined a small collective of around 20 arpillera artists and started working with Lucuma Designs. As part of this tight group, she values the connections she has made thanks to her art.

Lucuma Designs had the chance to catch up with Joan Frisz, store buyer at Just Creations, located in Louisville, KY. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to interview Joan to get the inside scoop about her mission, her take on the fair trade family, and her predictions for the future of fair trade.

In the rural villages around Lake Titicaca, knitting is a major way of life--especially for women and children. So, despite learning this skill later than most other girls, Edith Cruz became a knitting leader through perseverance and hard work. Thanks to these skills, Edith was able to go to college to earn not one, but two degrees. Read more about how fair trade helped empower her!

Lucuma Designs had the chance to catch up with Sandy Ramsay, co-founder of Artisans' World Marketplace, located in Sarasota, FL. While there, we got the scoop from Sandy about what it's like to be a fair trade store owner, her experiences, and what it takes to keep fair trade alive.

Representing a new generation of gourd artists, Lizzet Hurtado continued her family’s art tradition when marrying Rodolfo few years ago, they started their own workshop. As an accomplished artist and business woman, she has experienced her dose of gender discrimination in our male-dominated society. She felt first hand how a woman must work harder than her male counterparts to leave a mark.