Sotrami Fair Trade Gold For Artisan Wedding Rings
Ninety percent of the fair trade gold for Artisan Wedding Rings comes from the Sotrami Society of Mine Workers in Peru.
Sotrami is a hard rock underground mine located in Peru’s central Atacama desert, next to the village of Santa Filomena. The cooperative was formed in 1989 by small scale artisal miners who were able to obtain a legal mining concession from the state. The cooperative today has 166 equal shareholders who work on a concession of approximately 2500 acres. Cyanide is used in tanks to safely leach the gold the seven hundred tons of ore that are produced each month. Annually, it produces approximately 115 kilos of gold.
Approximately three thousand people live in the village of Santa Filomena, and all depend upon the Sotrami mine. The company put electricity in the village, built a playground, created a system for collecting trash, and created a shuttle system to take workers to and from the mine. There is a social contract for retirement and medical support. The workers make an average monthly wage of about $500, which is far higher than the average in Peru. Sotrami miners can feed their families and their children do not have to work in the mines. In fact, school is compulsory.
The people acknowledge that the mining is very hard and difficult work. Yet given the economic conditions and poverty in Peru, and how destructive small scale gold mining in Peru is in other locations, many consider this mine and its surrounding community a living miracle.
To make this point clear, visit illegal small scale mine located elsewhere in Peru produced by the PBS news hour here;
By your purchasing of a fair trade gold wedding ring or engagement ring, you support the best in small scale mining practices.
Photographic images on this page courtesy of www.patrickschein.com/us
View Cart
