• Placemats
• Jewelry
• Cacao Nibbles
  
• Tree Ornaments
• Jungle Steps
• Hammocks
• Tapestries
• Paintings
• Mirrors
• Story Windows
• Jungle Boxes
• Wood Carvings
• Angels
• Musical Angels
• Mermaids
• Windchimes
• Wool Rugs

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Bolivia has a population of only 8 million, but a traveler will find more diversity among its peoples than imaginable: the Andean cultures of the Aymara and Quechua are distinct from the Guarani of the dry, hot Gran Chaco, or from the 20 families of the Yaminahua in the northern Bolivian Amazon. With dozens of languages and over 50 ethnic groups, Bolivians are as different as their geography.

Bolivia's poor transportation and communication infrastructure and geographic isolation no doubt explain why so many indigenous cultures and languages have survived in spite of Spanish colonial rule and the hegemony of whites and mestizos in the subsequent republican governments. More than half the population considers itself indigenous, a proportion that makes Bolivia unique among South American countries. The recent revival of pride in their indigenous heritage instead of colonial-encouraged shame has fostered efforts to maintain languages and cultures. Some are even flourishing. Teachers can now teach their classes in the native language of the students, often with the help of state-supplied materials. Young people frequently prefer to dance traditional dances at parties than to modern Latin disco music. And traditional dress is making a comeback even among some Bolivian professionals.

Key to strengthening indigenous groups is guaranteeing that they can continue to live on their lands. In the 1990s, several famous marches from the tropical lowlands to the heights of La Paz forced the government to start a process of titling traditional territories, Tierras Comunitarias de Origen, to indigenous groups. This is part of a larger land reform process, more successful and peaceful in Bolivia than in other parts of the world, to break up the landholdings of the few wealthy families and distribute them to communities.

There are also odd assortments of immigrant groups in Bolivia, creating an feeling of time travel to a visitor: Russian Old Believers with their long beards and boot-tucked cossack pants on a decades-long run from Revolution; Mennonites with their uniform overalls and straw hats arriving to create closed colonies for their people; Japanese and German immigrants escaping their countries after World War II; Brazilians in search of lower taxes and cheap land.

Diversity is richness, but presents its own problems too, and Bolivia is struggling to balance the differences among its ethnic groups with its desire to improve life for its people. Centuries old disparities between privileged whites and impoverished Indians have erupted into clashes in the streets of La Paz and El Alto about who will control the natural gas reserves of the country. Traditional antipathy between the mountainous westerners called "Collas" and the tropical easterners "Cambas" have led to a seccessionist movement by the wealthier Cambas. In the coming months and years, Bolivia will likely be forced with come to terms with differences among its people and reconcile the historic mistrust between its classes and ethnic groups.