ARTISAN

FORUM

Title:
Dimensions:
Date:
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
The mission of ARTISAN FORUM is to uplift a community of
indigenous Colombian women, and to provide environmentally-friendly
traditional handcrafts for ethically conscious consumers.

Primarily, Artisan forum is conformed by indigenous women of the nasa

community .Who has survived to the Colombian internal armed conflict,
one of the largest internal conflicts in the world. These women have used
artisan techniques as peacebuiliding practices in their community.

Our products are of the highest quality, made from renewable materials
and tinted with natural dyes. We are dedicated to protecting the
environment, using traditional Colombian artisan techniques, and helping
alleviate poverty in the indigenous community that crafts our products.

The products exposed in this portfolio are made of Werregue

(Astrocaryum standleyanum), a palm located in the Colombian pacific
coast. The products are tinted using natural dyes such as achiote
(Bixa orellana), leaves of puchicana and clay.
 Crafting a better future

It was 4:00 am on Monday morning and Maria woke up knowing that her
most important task of the morning was to get her 5 year old daughter ready
to go to school. Next, she strapped her 6 month old baby to her back to start
her day’s work which was collecting the fiber with which she made handi-
crafts off trees in the rural areas of Jambalo, Cauca. I had the opportunity to
meet Maria at a workshop to teach women peacebuilding practices in
Jambalo, Colombia, a town severely impacted by the Colombian civil war
and the presence of armed groups (guerilla and paramilitary groups).

These women have been affected by the Colombian civil war in

many ways: family members have been killed or displaced and
some of them have been raped. While I was making my speech,
Maria was weaving with the fiber she had collected and was so
careful to insert the needle in the right place.

She was so concentrated on what she was doing that at

times I was tempted to stop my speech and watch her.
The surprising thing is that Maria was not the only
woman in the room weaving. 15 of the 20 women
present were weaving something. At the end of the
meeting I asked Maria why she was so focused on
weaving.

She explained that the only time to weave is

when she participates in social workshops and
meetings from her indigenous council because
while she was working at home, her daily
activities do not leave her time to indulge in her
passion for weaving and also her male partner
did not allow her to work on handicrafts because
weaving did not generate any income.

The only thing she needs to do what she loves is:

freedom.

Cindy Córdoba Arroyo

Founder of Artisan Forum
Title: Pasiáa (trip)
Dimensions: 8,5 x 10 inches
Date: May 5th,2016
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: Us quiwe (The place)
Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches
Date: May 5th,2016
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: fi’nze (afternoon)
Dimensions: 9 inches x 11 inches
Date: April 29th,2016
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: Quiwe tujnd (dust road)
Dimensions: Materials:
Date: 8 x 9 inches
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: Yaattewe’sh (family)
Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches
Date: April 22th,2016
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: Shambúu (meeting)
Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches
Date: April 15th,2016
Place: Cali, Colombia
Title: Eewee (the shooting star)
Diameter: 10 inches
Date: April 15th,2016
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: Wala (sea)
Dimensions: 7,5 x 8 inches
Date: April 4th,2016
Place: Jambaló, Colombia
Title: Quite (flower)
Diameter: 10 inches
Date: April 4th,2016
Place: Cali, Colombia
Title: Sec (the sun)
Diameter: 10 inches
Date: April 4th,2016
Place: Cali, Colombia
 Cxacx uus yaatxnxi 1
The preservation of the thought of all us

1. Nasa yuwe language