This past May, Amazon Ecology hosted a workshop in the Puca Urquillo Bora community on the Ampiyacu River to help 30 artisans from the region learn to make two new kinds of bird ornament woven with chambira palm fiber. Since this was an advanced workshop, the participants were expected to make their birds to export quality under the guidance of two experienced artisan facilitators from the Marañon River.
It was encouraging to see that at the end of the four-day workshop, our program coordinator Yully assessed that most of the woven blue-crowned trogons and brown pelicans were impeccable. While some needed some tweaks to improve, she bought all but four of the 56 birds made during the workshop.
The workshop strengthened the technical skills of the participants and fostered a sense of community and collaboration. During the verbal evaluation held at the end of the session, many artisans expressed their gratitude and satisfaction with the quality of teaching they received. They highlighted the patience and dedication of the facilitators and emphasized the importance of continuing such training to improve the quality and competitiveness of their products in the market.
One of the very talented workshop participants was 24-year old Bora native artisan Morelia who is a mother and leader in her community that hosted the training. She said, "This workshop was an incredible opportunity for me to learn and improve. While I am still learning, I feel motivated to innovate and keep working with this art, as it helps us economically. I want to encourage others to continue learning and perfecting their skills. That's why I enjoy attending these kinds of workshops." Morelia’s enthusiasm and dedication is inspiring others to follow her example and value making crafts as a sustainable source of income.
