Peace Corps Panama Baking and Business Tour around the Darien
At the end of March, I partnered with a few volunteers in my group to give baking and business sessions in the Darien with the Embera indigenous group. They are very fun and friendly people! In this part of Panama bordering Colombia, they wear skirts of colorful designs and for some women, that is all they wear! They either are topless (which is their traditional dress), wear a bra like top, or just a shirt with the skirts. Also, it is their tradition to be painted with blue/black designs all over their body and face from a fruit called, jagwa ( pronounced hag-wah), which lasts for about a week. They create intricate designs and around the neck and chest is a painted necklace, which is beautiful artwork to see when you are not wearing a shirt. I got the traditional design of their community, which is of their river. Usually they would wear designs that symbolize their community but now, they just create nature or creative drawings for fun. Supposedly it helps to protect...