Meet Diego, a local artisan carpenter who lives in a small town on the coast of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. He, his wife Raquel, and their nephew Pedro hand-carve beautiful wood kitchen servers from reclaimed wood for a sustainable, living wage. Coming from reclaimed wood, each piece features unique natural lines and knots that are carefully sanded to preserve the raw individuality of the wood.
First, Diego, Raquel and Pedro gather local reclaimed coffeewood, laurelwood and macawood and bring it back to their workshop. Diego then gets to work carefully sanding and shaping the wood. Sawdust is everywhere: the counters, the window sills, even the cat’s hair! Next, Pedro works on cleaning up the finished pieces, sanding and sorting. Finally, Raquel finishes the work off, polishing each object with raw tung oil to protect the wood against the elements and endure durability.
If you would like to purchase one of these beautiful pieces, visit here for measuring spoons:
Or a spaghetti spoon:
Or you can also check out this comfort cross also made in Guatemala:
https://sojournsfairtrade.com/products/wooden-comfort-cross?_pos=1&_sid=e6ddf7f67&_ss=r
Information taken from UPAVIM and upavimcrafts.org