Bolivia
When Evo Morales was elected president of the Andean nation I was determined to go. I was enthralled to travel to a country in the America's where there was an Indigenous leader - something that has not happened in hundreds of years. I wanted to know how this would affect life for the Aymara and Quechua Indian peoples. Bolivia has had a tragic history of wars and violent colonisation, a ruthless mining economy and is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The country has rain forest, deserts and high mountains, within a few hours you can drive from the dizzying heights of La Paz where the air is dry, thin and cold, past great herds of llamas, snow capped mountains and glaciers, then descend down to the hot, humid and green jungles of the Amazon.
I was first introduced to the mines by Urth Solution - a young company aimed at working with miners to raise standards and control the environmental impact of the mines. They put me in touch with a mine in the Yungas in the lowlands east of La Paz. An alluvial mine that runs as a cooperative working with the local community. This mine will soon be one of the first to be registered as a Fair Trade gold mine. Working without the use of Cyanide and Arsenic to extract the gold, they are working on their Mercury management. Being registered they will able to sell their gold at a fair trade premium, the additional money is put back into the community to help in health and education projects and well as improving the safety of the mine.
My first collection was using the beautiful 24kt gold bought from the mine and worked by Javier in La Paz, a former miner himself who had grown up in the Yungus not far from the mine - Javier instantly understood the effect I wanted for the collection, making the gold into smooth pebbles, natural graceful shapes the allowed the beauty of the gold to speak. We made beads moulded from ancient pre Colombian jade that have been unearthed by farmers ploughs. The shapes are rounded and soft and speak of the passing of time - the wind, water and earth creating shapes that feel smooth and comforting to the touch.
These perfect little sculptures have been strung on coloured alpaca wool in vibrant pinks and greens to wear as reminders of water worn pebbles and they support a mine that is trying to improve the conditions for both the miners who work there but also the earth around it.
Our next collection was all about flight, heavy gold butterflies, birds in Brancusian movement, wings spread of tucked neatly and buzzing bee's.
The following collection was inspired by the shells on the shore of Lake Titicaca in soft swirls and curves of these most brilliant architects -
Our new collection is all about sound, tiny bells hang off chains and rings tinkle softly with small bells. Bells have traditionally been used to call the gods and spirits form their world to ours, this bell collection will quietly follow you with gentle songs.
We hope to continue to raise awareness about the polluting effects of the gold mining industry with this collection while supporting the mine and the vital message it is calling for - cleaner mining practices.