Panama I have been fascinated by the Kuna Indians of Panama for years. Their reputation as both remarkable craftspeople and as a fiercely independent and a culturally intact people is inspiring. They have a secured territory on the Caribbean coast of Panama where they live on small islands just off the mainland. They hunt, farm and collect fresh water on the mainland, travelling back and forth on narrow wooden sailboats and canoes. I first went to Panama in 2006 to research their textiles – the famous Mola’s (beautiful colourful maps of soul journeys and designs, brought to women in dreams and visions and sewn in appliqué) that they wear as part of their blouse. I found that every woman was heavily adorned in beautiful gold and beaded jewellery – from wrist to elbow and knee to ankle; coloured beads are threaded in complex designs. The women wear gold nose rings and beautiful charms of gold butterflies, birds and sea creatures. I was entranced. With the permission of the chiefs I spent some time with a very traditional community on the tiny island of Soledad Miria, working with the goldsmiths on my last collection of jewellery. see images in larger format This year I returned to work on a new collection, this time inspired by the women’s designs from their Molas. We worked on cascading waterfalls of tumbling gold butterflies, chains of disks with the Mola patterns carefully engraved on each and on earrings that glitter and flash in the sun. This was a new idea to bring the women’s designs in to the sphere of the male gold workers. The community discussed this and were in favour of trying. On the last day when the women in the village tried on the finished pieces and gave their approval with excitement about this novel direction, I was excited. The Kuna believe that gold is purifying and sacred, that it is the ‘veins of Mother Earth’. They do not believe in mining and have refused large scale mining concessions on their land. They pan the gold from the rivers and make flat sheets of the gold which are then hammered, cut, and etched. All the animals and birds depicted have stories and symbolic meanings to the Kuna. Kuna women are beautiful, every day the women put on their jewellery and tighten their beads; they rouge their cheeks and paint a fine black line down the length of their nose. They take as much care with their appearance as with the perfection of each stitch of their Mola’s and the balance and harmony of each design. They say that Mother Earth gave them the plants from which they get the cotton for their clothes, and the gold for their jewellery, and the least they can offer in exchange is to wear them beautifully. It was an incredible privilege to get to know the families on Soledad Miria and to be able to spend time on their island – to walk at their pace, to see the world through their eyes, and understand another way of being in the world. We have made a small collection and each piece is one of a kind and handmade.