The Story of Terrabomba

Tierra Bomba is a small island just off the coast of Cartagena de Indias – a gem of a colonial town and the primary hub of the Caribbean slave trade back in the day. It is a place where social contrasts, even by Latin-American measure, are stark. The glassy walls of the hotels on the island’s northern beaches reflect back the images of palm trees and the azure waterfront but the life of the 9.000 locals is a much more ordinary grind.

They are the descendants of the Africans that were shipped here centuries ago to work the American soil. Today any work is hard to find, crime rates are painfully high and the educations is a luxury. It’s easier to come across a cold beer here than potable water, which costs more than in the more privileged areas of Cartagena. It somehow feels as if the fortress of San Luis de Bocachica, a very solid, 17th century military structure, was conserving the old order under it’s shadow.

Terrabomba is a brand created in Barcelona to promote products of the indigenous Colombian craft. It is a brainchild of Viviana, a Colombian native and Michal, who was introduced to the riches of the handcraft of Colombia during their stay there. Being an anthropologist, he found there a fascinating world of ancient cultures, still vividly present and alive in many parts of the country. For her, after years spent in Europe, it was a rediscovery of known, yet not entirely familiar threads of her own culture. For both it was interesting to see how the products of indigenous craft are still appreciated, loved an commonly used by the Colombians today.
Facebook.
Twitter.
Skype.