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Our Story The Village of Salvatierra and an Idea
There aren't many businesses that require getting up a dawn, loading up a bicycle with 40 pounds of hand-woven hammocks, crossing two piranha-filled rivers in dugout canoes and riding 15 miles through the jungle to carry the products to the closest bus. But that's why we are doing it. We named our company after Salvatierra, a village halfway between somewhere and nowhere in eastern Bolivia. Five years ago, Kristen arrived at this small indigenous community as a Peace Corps volunteer. She fell in love with the 50 families, 20 cows, several monkeys, and dozens and dozens of children, and they accepted her into their lives as one of their own. When Kathryn came for a visit, she too became enamored with the people and the local traditions, rich in music and art.
In that tiny village there is tremendous talent for weaving, a skill passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Women craft the famous Guarayos hammock, known as the best in Bolivia if not all of Latin America, with such care and intricacy that a single hammock will require a month of work. But the women were having difficulty selling their hammocks locally because of the high price they had to command. When we first saw their hammocks, we were completely enthralled by them, and we were certain that people abroad would appreciate and value their unique design and fabulous workmanship, and most definitely enjoy the abandonment to indolence they inspire when you sink into them. Then we discovered that there are other villages like Salvatierra, each with its own proud tradition of art and culture: Urubicha with its famous Painters Workshop, the wool weavers of Vallegrande, the tapestry creators from Buena Vista, the wood carvers of San Miguel de Velasco, and many others. We set out to find the very best of the Bolivian tropics: the unusual, the beautiful, the whimsical. We discovered art and handicrafts that are virtually unknown outside of Bolivia. We are excited to tell you about Salvatierra not only because the name
means "save the earth" in Spanish (particularly meaningful because
the village is participating in a community forestry program; they are
now custodians of more than 100,000 acres of tropical forest). By supporting
the art of Bolivia you are also strengthening and preserving some of the
most fascinating indigenous cultures of the Americas, and you are directly
benefiting the producers by buying from artisan cooperatives. Additionally,
Salvatierra Imports donates a percentage of profits to youth music education
projects in Bolivia. We hope you enjoy the whimsical, magical, lyrical, idyllic art of tropical Bolivia. Kathryn Krubsack and Kristen Evans Download our Press Kit.
All products shipped to you from our US location.
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