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PINE
NEEDLE ART
In a remote part of Michoacan, Mexico, in the foothills of the mountains
where millions of monarch butterflies overwinter, very poor but
resilient people eke out an existence. Most still cook over open
fires, and have no running water or other amenities that most of
us take for granted. Women have a particularly difficult time since
most have no source of income and are completely dependant on their
husbands who often must leave home to seek work.
But they are resourceful and creative. These local women collect
fragrant pine needles from the forests and ingeniously weave them
into individually crafted pieces. The enterprise offers the women
the dignity of working toward economic self-sufficiency while providing
their families an alternative to logging in local forests for basic
sustenance.
The Michoacan Fund and the La Cruz Habitat Protection Project have
encouraged the women in their endeavors by organizing classes in
different villages, taught by an indigenous woman who has herself
been empowered by her traveling and teaching. The fragrant pine
needle butterflies, hair barrettes, bells and baskets are the result
of this exciting endeavor.
Your purchase will both help these women and the forest habitats
that shelter the hundreds of millions of monarchs that have over
wintered there for millennia. For price and purchasing information,
click to the next page. |
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