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Bolivia
When Evo Morales was elected president of the Andean nation I was determined to go. I was enthralled to travel to a country in the Americas where there was an indigenous leader – something that has not happened in hundreds of years. I wanted to know how this would affect life for Bolivia’s majority Aymara and Quechua Indian peoples. Bolivia has had a tragic history of wars and violent colonisation, a ruthless mining economy, and is one of the poorest countries in the world. I wanted to go.
The country has rainforest, desert and high mountains. Within a few hours you can drive from the dizzying heights of La Paz where the air is dry, thin and cold, past great herds of Llamas, snow capped mountains and glaciers; then descend down to the hot, humid and green jungles of the Amazon.
Urth Solution is a young company aimed at working with miners to raise standards and control the environmental impact of mines. They put me in touch with a goldmine in the Yungas in the lowlands east of La Paz. Tipuani is an alluvial mine that runs as a cooperative working with the local community. It is in the process of becoming a cleaner mine. Already they have managed to extract their gold without the use of cyanide and are now intent on no longer using poisonous mercury. This will allow the mine to eventually reach fairtrade status which means the gold can be sold at a premium. This additional money can then be put back into the community to help in health and education projects, as well as improve the safety of the mines.
The gold of Bolivia is very pure and often found in beautifully sculptured nuggets; it is a rich warm colour and is wonderful to work with.
We bought the gold from the mine, and then rather than ship it back to England, I decided to find a goldsmith in La Paz I could work with. I found Javier, a brilliant craftsman who very quickly understood what I wanted to do with the gold. His father had been a miner and he had grown up in the Yungas not far from the mine.
We made a collection of pure 24kt gold pebbles, making natural, graceful shapes that allowed the beauty of the gold to speak. We made beads moulded on ancient pre-Columbian gold and stone beads that had been unearthed by ploughing farmers. The shapes are rounded and soft and speak of the passing of time – the wind, water and earth creating shapes that feel smooth and comforting to the touch.
These perfect little sculptures have been strung on coloured alpaca wool to wear as reminders of water-worn pebbles, and they support a mine that is trying to improve the conditions for both the miners who work there and the earth around it.
