One World Projects
Handwoven Finger Puppets
Handwoven Finger Puppets
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These happy working people finger puppets are woven in bright realistic colors and make for great role playing games with children. Each is skilfully crocheted by women artisans of Manos Amigas using techniques that can be traced back generations for more than 3,000 years.
- Each puppet measures 4" high X 2" wide
- Styles include: Postman, Fireman, and Black & White Construction Worker, Man & Woman Couple
Handmade, Fair Trade and Imported from Peru.
Peruâs native Shipibo tribes are known for their strong cultural heritage, unique cosmology and their unmistakable ceramic arts. Unfortunately, Shipibo villagers also suffer from extreme poverty, and most live without access to basic education and medical care in poor villages along the RĂo Ucayali, a tributary of the Amazon River. Manos Amigas (Friendly Hands) works with the Shipibo villagers to develop their traditional craft and helps export their vases, sculpture and ornaments to the United States and Europe. Manos Amigas also offers free courses in design, accounting and business marketing and helps artisans identify new markets for their crafts.
Manos Amigas donates 20% of its profits to education and other social programs and helps youth living in Peruâs remote highlands continue their education through scholarships and financial assistance. The remaining 80% of the Manos Amigasâ profit goes directly to the artisan, most often as a 50-70% advance with the balance paid upon delivery and quality control. This wage is far above the national standard and helps Shipibo villagers improve their standard of living and provide for the future.
About the Artisans
About the Artisans
Chichicastenango, Guatemala, has become one of the most important heritage centers in Guatemala during the past 10 years, due to its predominant indigenous Maya Quiche population and their traditional textile products. Yet, despite increased tourism and a renewed interest in traditional Mayan crafts, work opportunities remain few for the indigenous population, many of whom are uneducated and otherwise unemployable.
Enter De Colores Art, a local business that levels the playing field for villagers by offering free training to anyone who demonstrates the initiative to learn a trade. The company employs 30 women and 18 men to knit and embroider textile products, with the option of working at home using materials provided by the company. De Colores recognizes the culture of its Mayan employees, and as such allows flexible hours and gives time off for sowing and harvest days.
De Colores also invests in community education projects by funding two local schools in the neighboring towns of Chujupen y Pachoj, and by providing scholarships to qualifying students.
In addition to stimulating the local economy by creating new jobs, De Colores makes a conscious effort to use recycled materials whenever possible. The reason for this is twofold: to preserve Mayan culture, as recycled textiles showcase traditional knitting patterns that arenât often seen in newer textiles, and to reduce scraps and waste.
Communities collaborate in the production process, as men work on the biggest textiles and women do the embroidery, crochet and macramĂŠ seen in smaller pieces. In some cases, in order to be competitive, sewing machines are used to assemble the finished product, although all the components are handmade and hand embroidered from cotton, wool and/or silk.
