The Gift is a beautiful hand made wood pendant created by Robin & Lisa. Designer/Green builder Rick Nation has joined our vision by supplying us with wood salvaged from dead trees. Now bringing them back to life in a magical way. Please see below under Cedar/Juniper to read more about Rick.

Each pendant is hand crafted in our studio in Wimberley Texas, is a one of a kind and is made from eco-friendly wood.

Also included is a small handmade scroll with a simple message of love for the receiver of the gift (see below for an image  of the scroll)

Both are delivered in a handmade bag from either Panama, Guatemala or India (see information below about the families that create these)

The Global Producers of the Bags

GUATEMALA

Francisco and Laura live in Panajachel, Guatemala on Lake Atitlan. They have 2 children Wendy Graciella who is 11 and Alex Fernando who is 3. They have been working and selling bags on the street for 10 years.

They were barely scraping by because selling to tourists is quite difficult - there are high and low seasons and years where things are low altogether. People would come and bargain them out of their profits, but they would sell out of necessity. We started working with Francisco and Laura three years ago and have become their primary source of income

We provide them with consistent work year round turning traditional textiles, cortes (the skirts the women wear) and huipiles (the indigenous shirts) into bags. They are extremely grateful to be working with the Mayan Connection and said that they don’t know how they would be getting by right now if it weren’t for our business. The living costs in Guatemala have almost doubled in the last year due to the high cost of petroleum however people’s incomes have not changed commensurate with the economy which leaves many people in an even tighter bind. In the midst of this the Tiriquiz family is growing and Laura told me recently that she didn’t know what they would do without the income that they earn making bags.

Each little bag is made out of a handwoven textile which represents a different ethnic group and Mayan village in Guatemala. People’s clothing has significance and speaks more than a thousand words about where they come from and who they are. You are holding a living piece of Guatemalan history.

INDIA: Sensitive Planet Inc, and the Ariven Community Vision

Sensitive planet Inc. supports single Moms in south India. In a small town called Mukudal. Single mothers and handicapped persons are given the opportunity to earn a living sewing the beautiful sari material bags.

Our goal is to provide each person a sewing machine to enable the single moms to make the bags and earn a living by working just 5 hours a day. The reason for this project is to address the unfairness of wages of women. since women are given less than half the rate of men as wages. Having a child and being a single mother makes survival incredibly difficult. This social problem has never been addressed by any government or NGO (non government organization)
We know we can be a solution to this problem by actively developing this community.

(Video was created by a 16 year old girl named
Rubika Harisaid)

Who is Ariven? Ariven is the meaning behind Namaste - to know Oneness of Spirit. Humanity now evolves to be Ariven, the angelic beings whom are called Bodhisattvas in Buddhism.“ARI” is an ancient word that means in the languages of Sanskrit & Tamil, “To Know”. Ari has several deep meanings in Tamil. Ari means the awake mind. Ari means Lord Vishnu, the Divine Energy that sustains us. Ariven means, the One who is awake. Ariven is the One who knows Oneness and is therefore Awake. This is the moment when we recognize the pains and sufferings of others as our own as much as we celebrate our human reality. We are the “ARIVEN”, the Awake who know Oneness. Our vision is to enable similar sanctuaries through out the world.

Ariven Community’s Work:

• Animal rescue ~ Halt killing of animals
• Sanctuary at Stage One to over 10,000 Aged Animal Elders (referred as AAE), Stage Two- over 100000.
• Giant Organic farming to produce intelligent vegetarian produce.
• Feeding the hungry with 50% of the produce
• Utilizing the other 50% to create, sustain educate and serve vegetarian’s diet globally
• Supporting the local community
• Yoga, spiritual, healing center within the sanctuary.

Animal Rescue

• Save the slaughter of old cows and bulls that have served humans
• Enable a peaceful life of love and care for each animal through the rest of its life.

PANAMA

Hand-woven bags of Maya origin, the chacaras or hand-woven bags are probably the oldest Ngobe and Bugle arts still in use. Chacaras are knitted bags crafted exclusively by Ngobe and Bugle women with fine pita, cabuya, cortezo and ampaola fibers. According to Ngobe and Bugle traditions, these designs were created by supernatural beings called magatda, by visionary women, by both male~female and identical twins and by sukias or wise men.

Wood Descriptions

Bamboo

Smith & Fong Company was founded in 1989 out of a truly passionate affinity for bamboo and with an overarching philosophy of sustainability. The firm began as a producer of bamboo accessories and was the first U.S. company to produce bamboo flooring and other products for the North American market.

The product is derived from Moso bamboo harvested from a forest that requires no irrigation or pesticides. Each year, 20 percent of the plantation’s bamboo—comprised of five-year-old poles only—is cut by hand, ensuring the forest canopy is not compromised to disrupt the ecosystem. The bamboo shoots that emerge in the winter as a food source for wildlife are not harvested or affected.

In 2007 Plyboo converted its manufacturing operations to produce no added urea-formaldehyde (PlybooPure™). Urea-Formaldehyde free Plyboo and Durapalm flooring and plywood is now readily available throughout North America. Plyboo products are submitted to an independent, third party lab for performance and emissions testing. All Plyboo products already comply with the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) strictest formaldehyde regulations for composite panels, and many can contribute to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Credits MR 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials; and EQ 4.4: No Added Urea Formaldehyde.

Cedar / Juniper

The Global Gift and Sunfusion Design has chosen to work with Rick Nation. His inspiration strives to promote an integrated approach to HOME DESIGN, emphasizing ENERGY EFFICIENCY, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP of NATURAL RESOURCES and  maintaining a HEALTHY  ENVIRONMENT both outdoors and in.

Treecycling…..I will not take the life of a healthy living tree, however, I will take a tree which has fallen in the name of progress, mill it into usable lumber and glorify its beauty into something that will be remembered forever. To see more of his work visit www.ricknation.homestead.com

Cedar trees are abundant in Texas and are often cut for clearing in house building. We are using product from the already cut trees and/or trimmings. The hardy cedar tree is a highly efficient water stealer–too efficient. Rain water is quickly absorbed by the cedars, reducing the amount of water that reaches the deep soils and aquifers. With less water trickles down for the oaks, they are under a lot of stress and the overall health of the oak trees is declining.

In the Naturalistic genre Cedar is a medicine of protection. Cedar trees are very old, wise and powerful spirits. Cedar is often used to cleanse a home or apartment when first moving and is burnt while praying to the Great Spirit in meditation. It’s Inviting unwanted spirits to leave and protecting a person, place or object from unwanted influences. It works as a purifier and as a way to attract good energy in your direction.

Pine
We have also used pine beams that were removed from an old house in Austin, Texas and milled to sheets usable in making pendants.

The Scroll

Each gift bag includes this scroll with it’s simple message of love and generosity.