Help Me Help a Family with Jewelry

by Dianne Pannell.
(New Zealand)

I have friends in Peru who live high in the Andes mountains.

They are a very poor family and use all their initiative and resources to make things they can sell to buy food and shelter for them and their children.

They have plenty of time and patience and will try anything. I had the idea that I could maybe send them Paua shell and the fittings to make jewelry but they wouldn’t have access to power tools or other sophisticated machinery to cut, clean and polish.

Is there a simple way of doing this using hand tools?

( Maybe a file, sand paper, small saw ….) and hydrochloric acid may be a bit dangerous for them to use also especially with small children in the house.

I can get them the earring and pendant fittings and chains for pendants. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

Dianne Pannell