JOYERÍA SEMILLA :: COOPERATIVA DE ARTESANOS DEL TAGUA :: RISHASHAY WORKSHOP :: WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL - AFGHANISTAN :: NINA BALI SILVER WORKSHOP :: FAIR TRADE GEMSTONES

Joyería Semilla — Villa de Leyva, Colombia, South America

Spanish for "seed jewelry," the Joyeria Semilla workshop was founded by visionary local artist Girasol Taborda Ponti. Located high in the Andes, the workshop trains at-risk youth and single mothers in the art of jewelry making. It provides a critical alternative to gangs, drugs and prostitution. Working with a fair trade importer, Lucina has forged a relationship with Joyería Semilla with the goal of developing a profitable, enduring market for the workshop’s exceptional products - such as the brilliant red choclo and coffee-brown algarrobo seeds found in Lucina's collection.

Cooperativa de Artesanos del Tagua — Manta and Quevedo, Ecuador, South America

Cooperativa de Artesanos del Tagua means “Cooperative of Tagua Artisans.” The tagua beads and pendants used in Lucina’s jewelry come from multiple small workshops located in Ecuador’s coastal towns, such as Manta and Quevedo. Tagua trees are native to Ecuador. When the large tagua fruits ripen and fall to the ground, they're harvested to make handcrafted goods from the durable seeds. The benign harvest of tagua nuts actually provides an economic incentive to preserve oxygen-rich tropical rainforests, whose dense foliage sequesters carbon - helping to cool the planet - and also provide habitat to an array of imperiled species. Sometimes called “vegetable ivory,” tagua can be hand-carved, polished and dyed for many uses. Typically, artisans run workshops out of their homes and employ six to seven people, often family members and friends. They receive fair compensation for their craft through a long-standing relationship with Lucina's fair trade importer partner. When business is good, these family workshops divide and multiply, creating more jobs and training new people in the art of making the exquisite tagua pendants and beads found in Lucina’s designs.

Rishashay Workshop — Bali, Indonesia

Radiant sterling silver and reclaimed gold-fill beads and chains come from a fair trade workshop in Bali. 90-100% of the gold used to plate the exquisite sterling silver beads is reclaimed/recycled. The workshop provides local silversmiths a safe working environment and a fair wage for their remarkable talents.

Women for Women International - Afghanistan — Kabul, Afghanistan

Women for Women International works with women survivors of war in conflict zones around the world to rebuild their lives and move from victim to survivor to active citizen. In Afghanistan, graduates of Women for Women International programs participate in several income-generation programs, including a jewelry workshop, which provide a safe, peaceful way to earn a living. Many of these women are war widows, and the sole providers for their families. They face ongoing discrimination and extremely limited opportunities. Through Women for Women International's programs, however, they are now engaged in various trades. Lucina purchases fluorite gemstones skillfully hand-carved by women in the Kabul jewelry workshop. The direct purchase of this fluorite provides immediate, empowering economic support to the women. Lucina also invests a percentage of all fluorite jewelry sales in Women for Women International's vital and life-giving work around the world.

Nina Bali Silver Workshop — Bali, Indonesia

Exquisitely embellished sterling silver beads, clasps, earring posts and chains found throughout Lucina’s collection come from the Nina Workshop in Bali. The workshop employs hundreds of highly trained silversmiths who use centuries-old techniques to produce beads of unparalleled quality and detail. In business for over 15 years, the workshop pays a generous wage to silversmiths, paying by the piece instead of by the gram, which honors and encourages the talent and time that go into highly detailed works. The workshop also provides a safe and state-of-the-art working environment and employs women on equal footing with men – notably, women comprise 50% of workshop management. The skill and art of creating these hand-made beads is passed down from generation to generation. One employee, a 25 year old woman named Wayan Sri Sudiarai, states that everyone in her community works with silver, and she chose to continue the tradition because it felt comfortable and familiar. "I am very proud of our handmade work. I hope the customers in America realize that when they purchase these items they are helping our community prosper."

Fair Trade Gemstones — Minas Gerais region of Brazil, South America

Luminous gemstones such as ametrine, aquamarine, citrine, jasper and clear, rose and smoky quartz found throughout Lucina’s designs are sourced from the only gemstone importer to have created and implemented Fair Trade sourcing standards for colored gems. These standards ensure that these naturally occurring gifts from the earth are brought to the customer in a way that cares for the people who mine and process gems, and for the planet that has provided these treasures. Fair Trade Gem standards cover labor conditions and workers’ rights, environmental protection, product integrity and supply chain transparency. Expanding the market for Fair Trade gemstones is essential to grow this new and groundbreaking standard in gemstone mining and cutting, and that happens with each precious purchase of Lucina jewelry.