Perlas de Paz--Beads of Peace

By Rosemary Smith

Perlas de Paz, or Beads of Peace, is the name of the beautiful handmade paper-bead jewelry made by a group of artisans in Fuerzas Unidas, Honduras. The name was chosen by the members of the group after much discussion. One of the highlights of my recent trip to Honduras was getting to meet the members of this group called "Lazos de Amor y Amistad" (Bonds of Love and Friendship). The 14 women and 2 young men are very creative AND industrious, a good combination for this new entrepreneurial business. 

The beads are handcrafted by wrapping recycled paper from magazines, etc. around a straight pin. Some are then painted, and all are combined with seed beads or some of the beads from jewelry we donated. 

Epiphany can be very proud as we help them get started.  They have already found a local market in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. The owner of five stores there will be buying items and working with them to develop ways to market their products.  We will be trying to develop markets here in the United States for them, as well.  This may require getting a Fair Trade stamp of approval, but we’ll help with that, too.

When they received their first pay last December, two of the young members told us they used the money to buy clothes so they could go to school.  School is free, but uniforms are required and they must pay for those plus other expenses. What a great way to help!!  Education is the way out of poverty.  The rest use the money to support their families (a total of about 20 children).

One way an Epiphany member could help would be to host a party – a gathering of family, friends and neighbors – to see the jewelry and maybe buy some of it.  It would be like a Tupperware Party.  If you’d like to do that, please let me know.  Call me at 502-240-5801 or email me by contacting Sister Larraine.

In the past few weeks, Epiphany members have contributed a huge amount of old costume jewelry.  These items have been taken apart and the beads, etc., sorted and bagged to be incorporated into future jewelry. We'll be seeing the results in a few months when we are able to bring back more of the group's work.  In the meantime, let's keep the old jewelry coming!