This festive holiday tree is hand-carved into a dried gourd for an organic ornament that represents Christmas whether its hung from the branches of a holiday tree, or from a lamp or window. Handmade in Peru and fair trade imported.
Cochas Chico, a small farming community nestled in the Andean mountains of Huancayo Peru, is home to a rich tradition of gourd carving, which is often the only source of economic income for local artisans and their families. It's also home to Esperanza and Raquel, two women who have established small fair-trade businesses to help their community and provide work for men, women, and children aged 10 to 60. For more designs by these groups, please visit www.oneworldprojects.com.
The Process of Gourd Carving
After the gourds are harvested, the artisan removes the outer green skin with a dull knife, exposing the lighter brown color underneath. Then the gourds are cleaned and dried in the hot Peruvian sun.
The artist draws a design onto the gourd with a pencil. Then using a carving tool called a BURIL, the artisan painstakingly removes small pieces of gourd to create a three dimensional version of the original design.
The next step uses the technique of pyrography to establish the contrasts between the carved figures and the gourd. The artist uses pieces of Quinual wood that are in the shape of thick feathers for this process. The tip of the feather is heated in a fire to a glowing ember and then put to the gourd to cause a burn. The artist blows on the ember to vary the intensity of the heat; the harder the artist blows the darker the burn.
Having obtained the color, they wash the gourd to remove the pencil marks and the natural wax so that the gourd will have a better brightness. And again they return to the BURIL to add any final detail in the carving.
As one artisan says, "If we have fun in our work, it will teach us to know more of our culture. Through the created drawings we are inspired to do many things. The tradition of gourd carving helps to shape the culture and customs of the town."
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