Verena's Treasury

I stepped into Verena's treasury the other day (a small storage room in the back of her house that she runs a bit like a craft store for the work the indigenous artisans make, such as animals, bowls, salad spoons carved from Palosanto and hand-braided (not woven or knotted) bags from the Caraguatá fiber (a small bromeliad plant from which a fiber is obtained), the drawings and paintings some artists make and many other things).

The smell of the fragrant palosanto wood is overwhelming in here mixed with the grassy smell of the  'cactus fiber bags' as they are called here with their beautiful patterns and designs that emerge from the various dyed fibers. When I opened the door to this room, I  was transported years back to my childhood.

As a child, a trip to this room was always a highlight of a visit to Verena's place and I always had a terribly hard time choosing the most beautifully carved animals, digging through boxes and boxes of them. My little animal collection is still in my display case here at home.

This time I sat down on the brick floor to look through all the black and white drawings that are for sale. Some of the workshop participants "paid" with a drawing for the workshop which will be sent to some of the donors and supporters of the workshop, but I needed some extras and chose several for myself as well. Ideally we would have produced enough prints to send out as thank you presents, but alas the week was too short to produce enough and the goal of the workshop was to learn, not the produce.
Verena buys all the work from the artisans and artists and sells it at cost. She organizes exhibitions (several in Paraguay, but also in Berlin and Paris) and has published two catalogues about indigenous art here in the Chaco. Unfortunately the demand for the craft and artwork is rather small locally, and while the sales are a small occasional income for the artists, they can't make a living with it. I truly wish that there was more demand for artwork here locally. I noticed now in Neuland that the Mennonites are slowly becoming more interested in art. But wouldn't it be wonderful if offices and clinics would start putting up local art on the walls? What I would also like to see is a store or a gallery in the center of Neuhalbstadt where the work is on display, for sale and easily accessible for every passerby. As wonderful as Verena's treasury is, it is a bit hidden away and you need to know about it to get there (I do believe all the tourist guides in the area know it and take visitors there).