It was a dark and rainy night in Lusaka Zambia. I left the hotel headed for a friend's place for dinner. Jack and his wife Mary gave me a little map and said give it to the taxi driver. When I jumped in this leaky, beat up rat trap of a car I handed the map over to Snake and said take me there. No joke, Snake was his name. It was on the taxi permit on the sun visor. Only thing was the permit was for Malawi. Anyway, off we go out into the rain. Have you ever been in a car where the sun roof leaked? Well, it was a little like that except it was the windshield leaking. Maybe the wiper had worn a hole in the windshield. Yeah, wiper...on his side. The passenger just guesses what's out there. So we are boppin' along when he stops to pick up another fare. These two women, both Precious, jump in the back seat. Now everyone is getting wet. I'm in the front when I feel this thumping on my arm. I look down and Precious is banging me with this wood carving. I sneak a peek at her face and boy, is she smiling. Then she starts the sales pitch. "Your wife, she's going to like this..." "I'm not married," I lied. It didn't work. "You too handsome not to have a girlfriend...maybe several." "I'm too poor to have one." Now I was telling the truth. She says, "for you this fertility doll is cheap. Make you many sons." "Sons aren't cheap", I replied. "Who gonna watch over you when you old like me?" "Now you have a point, how much?" And that is where this doll or statue came from. It works because I have three sons and grand kids to boot. The carving is 10" tall. Click above for the larger images.

About Panama Cocobolo Have you ever wondered just where something came from that you bought? You'll really appreciate these cocobolo items after you've read the following and viewed all the photos. The Wounaan and Embera Indians from the rainforest in Darien province of Panama are master artisans. The women are well known for their fine baskets and the men for their cocobolo wood and tagua carvings. The baskets are hand woven using natural fibers found in the forest.   Commonly referred to as Cocobolo, the Dalbergia Retusa is a mid-sized, sub-canopy tree belonging to the Papilionaceae family, reaching 45 to 60 feet in height in the natural rainforest, with trunk diameters up to 3 feet, usually of irregular form. The heartwood is surrounded by white sap wood. The sapwood which is as dense as the heartwood will vary in amount depending on the age of the tree and the conditions of its habitat. The poorly formed stems yield the most uniquely figured and highly-prized wood. Cocobolo is leguminous, or nitrogen-fixing. Cocobolo is highly favored for fine furniture and cabinetry, fine inlay work, brush backs, knife handles, guitars and other musical instruments, pool cues, fine fountain pens, decorative and figured veneers, parquet floors, hunting bows, automobile dashboards, bowls, jewelry boxes, and other expensive specialty items. By purchasing or bidding on this cocobolo, you are helping this village to provide food and clothing for their families. Our representatives personally know the Wounaan and Embera artists and have purchased thousands of cocobolo products so that you too can appreciate this rare and delicate art form. The only REAL Panama Cocobolo are the hand-carved cocobolo of the Wounaan and Embera Indians, accept no substitutions, these are the real McCoy! And if you're interested in making a journey to this "land before time", give is shout and we will try and help you.   affiliate of BrokerBrock.com

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