OUR COLLECTION — ASIA — INDONESIA 46. BALSA WOOD HOLY FAMILY
This hand-carved Nativity features the figures of Joseph and Mary holding baby Jesus, with a sitting angel above them. Joseph has a dog behind him; the dog is white with black spots, so it is presumably a Dalmatian. The figures have been carved from balsa wood and then painted on the mostly Hindu island of Bali, Indonesia. Mary and Joseph stand 6 inches tall.
Yayasan Mitra Bali, Bali Mitra Bali, a non-governmental, non-profit organization on the mostly Hindu island of Bali, was started in 1993 to provide marketing and export assistance to 15 family workshops producing handcrafts. The director of Mitra Bali was convinced that local artisans should consider producing “eco-friendly” handcrafts for export instead of competing for sales in the tight local tourism market. Mitra Bali now works with about 60 producer groups—mostly family workshops—representing about 2000 artisans. Because many of the Balinese handcrafts are made of wood, Mitra Bali supports reforestation by supplying the artisans with soft wood seedlings and avoiding the use of hard woods.
Yayasan Mitra Bali, Bali Mitra Bali, a non-governmental, non-profit organization on the mostly Hindu island of Bali, was started in 1993 to provide marketing and export assistance to 15 family workshops producing handcrafts. The director of Mitra Bali was convinced that local artisans should consider producing “eco-friendly” handcrafts for export instead of competing for sales in the tight local tourism market. Mitra Bali now works with about 60 producer groups—mostly family workshops—representing about 2000 artisans. Because many of the Balinese handcrafts are made of wood, Mitra Bali supports reforestation by supplying the artisans with soft wood seedlings and avoiding the use of hard woods.