I have tried to contact the author but I cannot find a valid email. If any of you would like to learn more about the plants and the culture that come together to create these art pieces, read this research paper. It is long but it is real.

http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/people/2001/lincolnPovel.pdf

I want to keep the natural look and the 100% organic-ness of the bag, so I thought to use a woodburning brand.

I expected the burned color to match nicely as well. Now that my custom branding iron finally made it to me, I get to see what it looks like.

I am not sure if it’s just that so much time has gone by with the logos as they are, but I’m tempted to say that the bags look better without the name written on them.

The brand name will go inside the bags on the tags. Is that enough? The people around me tend to feel that the buttons look better simply as symbols: without the letters.

My objective is for the bags to look beautiful and luxurious. I need for people to easily recognize that it is a Vala bag.

Truthfully, there aren’t many bags out there that look like these anyway. Certainly none with a light-burst shaped, vegetable ivory button.

I am interested in opinions.

1. An empty canvass from which to create something brand new that meant exactly what I wanted it to

2. The realization that human beings don’t have something they need. If after weeks of searching, I could not find ONE story of a female hero who makes a difference in the world and gets a reward, then that means most people have never heard a story like that.

We have heard dozens of tales of strong men, fighting big bad beasts in long and glorious battles. And those kinds of hero stories are important in our world as metaphors for a lot that we encounter in life. But there are so many people who give their lives working for what they think is right, making a difference because they feel it is the only right course of action, not because they are after the prize. We don’t have a word for that kind of person. We don’t have any legends that talk about that kind of heroism.

The sad part is that these are the people who make the greatest difference. These are the people we need more of. And they are not in our consciousness enough for us to give them their own word.

The Eskimos have 14 words for snow: a reflection that snow is important to them and on their mind. As soon as something has its own word, it becomes more crystalized in our consciousness.

So it seems my project to develop a brand has expanded. I want to create a social revolution. And I want these bags to be a part of it.

Buying one of these bags gives a woman the chance to make a difference. But the difference they get to make is not like slaying a dragon. It has to do with community, and problem solving and win-win. This project is about bringing consciousness to the existence of women change-makers, giving them the opportunity to make a difference in a new way, celebrating them and giving them the community of each other.

Since the canvass is clear, to express these feelings, I dug into Greek and Latin roots and pieced together a word that meant power and feminine. At the moment, it won’t sound familiar. But I hope that within the year, you’ll know what it means.

The word is Vala.

I will use the word Vala to describe women who make a difference in the world in a feminine way, taking into account community and interconnectedness, who aren’t in it for the glory. I bet you know a few Valas, too. Let’s talk about them and empower them and give them a word. If you see the need for more such people and you want to recognize them, refer to them as Vala. If you have a woman in your life that fits this description, call her Vala.

I will make my bags part of this social revolution: that is their brand identity. They are Vala Bags.

There are still a few things to polish, but you are free to peruse their creations! www.carpioarte.com

I realized when I saw the photos, that not only does the project benefit from the glamorous displays of the bags, but even more so from the creativity of their minds- minds that are not mine. Sometimes it feels like little me is trying to make such a huge impact on women and on the world, that I just need energy and input and points of view from other women- to help me carry it, to feel like it really is the work of a community. Amy is the target market for these bags and she tells me that women like her will relate to these photos. That is such precious information: I got market research, and professional photos all in one.

And just as I seemed to hit rock bottom in desperation, I got a lightning flash realization: in creating something new, I can’t look for it among things that already exist.

I can’t say that I found this symbol -it found me. It is powerful. It is feminine. It is natural. It looks beautiful on the bags.

The Woonan artists carved each one of them by hand and, at my request, instead of using the usual craft paint to add color, they used one of their natural dyes from boiled cocobolo wood.

It will not be complete until the name is placed on it (in the center), but we are off to a beautiful start. So far each part of the bag is handmade, fair trade, and 100% environmentally responsible, organic plant material.

On this trip, I saw old friends and I made the first steps in some new relationships. The community in Soloy knows me best. I lived with them, ate with them and bought some bags. As requested last time, they introduced me to a very very old man who knows the Ngobe legends. I have digital recordings (video and audio) of him telling and singing the old legends. I got the feeling it would take a week to tell all the stories he knew.

It was magical. I feel lucky that I get to preserve some of this for my grandchildren, and for the Ngobe grandchildren. I will post them on another page soon.

I also saw some bags in Soloy that were made in another village called Boca Balsa. They were superbly fine. When I showed them to other Ngobe women, their eyes bulged. So my friend Adan (an intelligent young Ngobe man working hard to develop the region) took me on the 4 hour hike up the mountain to meet them. Adan looked so agile and easy climbing in front of me. I tripped along in my expensive hiking boots, half alive, and we finally arrived.

Their area is gorgeous, but very poor. This community is much more remote with much fewer facilities.

I discussed with the women there the concept of fair trade. I spoke in Spanish and Adan translated in Ngobere because most of the women only spoke their native language.

For the second time, I was struck by how easily they got it. I walked them through the thought process: “Imagine how many days it would take you to make this bag from start to finish if you worked 8 hours a day only on it. Now figure the amount of money you need to make per day to provide a good life for yourself and your family (food, education, etc.).” Of course, in these villages this conversation takes about an hour.

But once they all agree on the time it takes and what a fair wage is, they jump easily to what the fair price of the bag is. They tell me with conviction. I’m impressed by this because, in this village, none of the artists can read or write. They have no education in economics or business or anything. But it seems that the value of one’s time is universally understood.

I forgot how things are in this region. I truly do not know when I will be able to come back and buy more bags: it depends on how quickly I sell them. But the other truth is, for most of the women who make these bags for me, there is no way of communicating except by telling them. No phones. No email. No mail. So I took a deep breath, and made my best guess. I told them October.

I am coming back in October. So now, the women are working, making bags with extra dedication because someone said she’s coming back in October to pay them a livable wage.