TREE OF LIFE IMPORTS
IMPORTS FROM LATIN AMERICA
COUNTRIES/PRODUCTS
El
Salvador:
Wooden Crafts
Crosses
Plaques
Triptychs
Ornaments
Stations
NEW
Other
wooden crafts
Guatemala:
Handwoven Crafts
Stoles
Bags/Purses
Other
woven crafts
Hand beaded Crafts
Ornaments
Keyrings
Jewelery
Other
beaded crafts
Mexico:
Sterling Silver
Other
Products:
Seed Pendants
Tree of Life Imports, Inc.
HOW WE STARTED
El Salvador is a country about the size of Massachusetts and is located
just beyond Mexico. My first visit to this country was in 1985. It was
a time of a violent civil war for the country. I had decided to spend
a month in this war torn region, and it was then when I met a nationally
known artist Fernando Llort. As an offshoot of his painting career, he
evolved a style of figurative painting on wooden plaques, folkloric in
character that developed into the national art of El Salvador. At his
invitation I went to stay at his home and met the artisans who painted
these gift items in their homes and in a central cooperative compound.
Carpenters cut the crosses and plaques out of pine wood that had been
felled by hand and sawn into timber by pairs of men while still on the
hillside. Women painted bright intense colors, a unique combination on
every piece. Several years later I made a commitment to support these
workshops through fair trade marketing, a cause which now has become more
current because global survival depends on sustainability in so many areas.
HOW YOU HELP
Your purchases provide this sustainable living wage to many families in
the village of La Palma El Salvador. The key to our long term marketing
of their handicrafts is sustainability. Year after year your help and
support ensures families are able earn enough money for the most basic
needs housing, nutrition, shoes, school supplies and uniforms.
FUTURE HOPES
On my last trip to Central America in November 2009, I attended a school
graduation where I knew many people involved. The youngsters finishing
kindergarten were provided with caps and capes to mark the first accomplishment
in their lives. Will they be able to stay in school to finish like the
older students pictured here who are signing each other’s uniforms
in celebration.
|
1985
  |
  2009 |
Please
click here to read article
from US Catholic Magazine March 2010 edition
"Romero Revisited" written by Thomas Hocker
Please
click here to read interview
from the January 2008 issue of
Today's Catechetical Leader featuring from Harcourt Publishing written
by Sarah Higgins