Best For:

Butterfly gifts, botanical gardens, nature boutiques, museum shops, garden centers, florist shops, spring displays, Mother’s Day gifts, pollinator-themed collections, and fair trade stores.

Peruvian Gourd Tradition

A humble fruit becomes a canvas for storytelling.

For thousands of years, Peruvians have transformed gourds into useful and expressive objects, using them to store food, make music, celebrate life’s moments, and tell stories.

In the Andean village of Cochas, in Peru’s Mantaro Valley, this tradition is still very much alive. Artists use the dried shell of the mate, or gourd, as a natural 3D canvas, carving intricate designs with a fine tool called buril. Their motifs are often inspired by nature, daily life, celebrations, and imagination.

Each gourd is shaped by nature and finished by hand, becoming an ornament, box, or keepsake with a character and story all its own.

Good for the Planet. Good for Everyone.

With love for Mother Earth and all beings who depend on her, Lucuma Designs commits at least 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations working to restore ecosystems, support Indigenous communities, and protect natural habitats.

Each year, we select nonprofit partners through the 1% for the Planet network whose work supports causes close to our hearts. Our giving often helps advance food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, solar energy, Indigenous rights, water access, habitat protection, and other environmental initiatives.

Our giving is certified annually through 1% for the Planet, so every Lucuma purchase helps support organizations working toward a healthier, more beautiful world.

Learn more about how you can join at OnePercentForThePlanet.org.