I recently read a quote,
“… in that awareness, looking over the objects on my desk- the basket, the candle, the paper- I delight in following their origins back to the ground. Even the metal of my lamp asks me to consider it’s roots in the strata of the earth. But I notice that my eyes and my thoughts pass quickly over the plastic on my desk. I hardly give the computer a second glance. I can muster no reflective moment for plastic. It is so far removed from the natural world. I wonder if that’s a place where the disconnection began, the loss of respect, when we could no longer easily see the life within the object.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer (From Braiding Sweetgrass)
I connected the quote back to our Why. Why we are choosing to start an online store, in the middle of a global pandemic, while recently entering into a season of both of us being unemployed, during a time where we live in an environment that is quite restricted with limited travel. Our why is because we deeply care about connecting each part of our lives to our values. A few months back, in the thick of the pandemic (2pm curfew, closed borders, etc.), we chose to start a small little black book- called our Book of Values. We took pen to paper. Categories varied from Values, Food, Home, Health, Community, Relationships and everything in between. We spent hours writing out what felt valuable and important to us (highly recommend this!). Being intentional about our values, intentions and motivations has always felt comfortable to us! So, writing out our little “culture” felt right- a great reference point to keep coming back to, while also holding us accountable!
As we continued filling up this book, a few things kept recurring- a deep desire to continue implementing sustainable practices in and outside our home, practicing gratitude, being intentional about rest and play, a love for intentionality and mindfulness, a desire for continual growth, how naturally we inclined towards ethical and conscious purchases and lifestyle practices, how much we adore community building connections, and stories- people’s stories. Almost all categories kept revolving around community, people, stories, finding common grounds, hearing people and doing our very best to truly see them, bridging connections and investing in loving our neighbors (as tangibly as possible). We decided to continue keeping our front door open (a practice we started on day 1), although we live on a main road and every single person who walks down this street looks directly into our living room/kitchen/dining room. And we kept exploring practical ways to bridge connections between the indigenous people here and everyone else.
The more we learned and saw indigenous practices and their lifestyle, we kept feeling a draw. A draw to how easy it was for them to gather together and just be present with one another; how they can take 6 chickens and 20 pounds of rice and cook a meal for 50 people with a few minutes notice; how quick they are to help without needing to be asked; to their crafts, their skills and how incredible they are at creating; how connected they are to the natural world- picking up seeds and leaves off the ground during a walk, and turning it into a necklace right in front of our eyes; their instinctual ability to draw close to one another rather than away from one another; their vast knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs- being aware of the myriad of plants that they live among; the women’s self-empowerment in observing their mothers’ and grandmothers’ artisan crafts and teaching themselves how to create; how children are bold, fearless and always respectful, how quick they are to pick up a machete and work in the harsh sun and rain for 10 hours a day, yet also how quick they are to playing games together, or share stories around a fire. These are just the surface of everything we continued to expose ourselves to and admire. So it only felt right that we figure out a way to share these beautiful artisan crafts with others. It felt like the natural and seamless thing to do. We want to give indigenous artisans here an opportunity to share their incredible skills with you- we are simply the bridge.
Ultimately, we have fallen in love with this enchanting country and the people that make up this place. In that process, we have easily grown in respect for the indigenous people here. Their history and lifestyle are something we continue to learn about and soak in. While it would be so easy to keep all this to ourselves, it only feels fair to build a bridge between the Artisans here and you! So out of this came the idea of Tandana Collection. This is a space to share our little ways we implement sustainable practices in our lives and learn from you. And most importantly, a platform to highlight and feature indigenous artisans and their ancient craft.
Welcome!