I am Claudia Vélez and this is my history
I am Claudia Velez and I am 31 years old. I was lucky to be born and grow up in a beautiful and very small town (population approximately of 300 inhabitants) called San Antonio del Chamí.
This town located in the deepest mountains of the department of Risaralda in Colombia is a town full of biodiversity, beautiful and hardworking people; but at the same time quite forgotten by the country and has had to deal for decades with the violence of different armed groups.
Since I was a child I witnessed different situations that a girl should not witness, including the murder of my own father at the hands of one of these groups.
In San Antonio del Chamí there are various members of the Embera Chamí indigenous community, one of the many indigenous communities in Colombia. There I grew up surrounded by many of these indigenous families.
Adolescence
In 2005 my family was forced to move from the area due to the violence in our beautiful town. During my adolescence I lived in various towns of Colombia with my family, until 2008 when I arrived in the city of Medellin.
In this city I had the opportunity to work in different places in the city such as bars and supermarkets in order to earn money to help my family and study. Thanks to all this I was able to graduate from university as an «Occupational Health Administrator». From 2010 until 2020, I worked in civil works.
Birth of Dulce Clavel
Since the pandemic affected all of us at work, I had the initiative to create a new source of income and that is how Dulce Clavel was born. I currently work with 3 beautiful indigenous families and approximately 12 artisans. They are the ones who create our beautiful accessories.
My mission is to take this beautiful art and legacy to all corners of the world. And with your help and support we will achieve it.
Thank you for visiting our website and buying our accessories.
Hugs Claudia Velez.
Who are the Embera Chamí?
They are a Colombian ethnic group with a population of approximately 30 thousand inhabitants (census conducted by Colombian in 2005). In their dialect, Embera means «people» and Chami means «mountain range», which translates to «People of the mountain range or mountain people».
The majority of their population is found along the San Juan River and in the town of Pueblo Rico and Mistrató, in the department of Risaralda, Colombia.
Its population is characterized by being strong and hardworking, within their main activities are hunting and agriculture. On the other hand, the production of handicrafts made of chaquira has become an important source of income.
The breastplates, necklaces, bracelets and earrings are gaining strength in the world of fashion, positioning themselves as the favorite accessories of many women in Colombia and the world, due to their great manual work full of colors and shapes.
In their creations, the Embera people capture their traditions, beliefs and forms of nature.
