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In the 1940's, it was common practice for businesses in Port-au-Prince to travel to a small town on its outskirts, Croix Des Bouquets, and dump metal drums and other industrial wastes. Georges Liautaud, a local blacksmith, took these discarded drums and began cutting and melding them with iron bars, creating elaborate metal ornamentation of exceptional beauty. Today, the craft is seen as a cultural treasure, practiced by many artisans in the city. Uniquely and wholly Haitian, these works exemplify the incredible resilience of its people and their ability to transform senseless destruction into singular, inspirational construction. Through the ingenuity and creative spirit which has guided their culture for centuries, the people of Haiti were able to draw inspiration from materials signifying poverty, destruction, and hopelessness and transform them into items representing empowerment, sustainability, and a hope for the future. |
| Just as Georges Liautaud did some 70 years ago, the haitian people continue to find inspiration and strength in their devastated surroundings. Urban Zen truly believes the metalcraft industry in Croix Des Bouquets will help empower the 10,000 refugees currently stationed there. The regenerative drive of this craft group and the Haitian people as a whole will lead them from hardship and into and a new era of economic and social triumph. |
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