Our History
Artesanos Don Bosco is one project in a long list of volunteer-run charitable works of the organization called Operazione Mato Grosso, an organization founded to help people in poverty in 1967 by the catholic priest Father Ugo De Censi, belonging to the Salesian Congregation, he was a faithful devotee of St. John Bosco and loved to work with the youth.
Operazione Mato Grosso started off as an adventurous trip with the idea to help others. In 1966, Father Ugo asked a group of young Italians to travel to Brazil for the summer to help his missionary friend, Father Pietro, build a school and health post. By July of the next year, 21 young people left for the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. After four months of work, they were not able to complete the building, and some decided to stay. Those who returned to Italy started to raise money to support the mission.
Italy: Over the years, the volunteer movement expanded in Italy where today there are hundreds of groups and thousands of individuals. Every day, volunteers meet in their free time to carry out work projects – landscaping, painting, collecting clothing, and recycling sharp metal – to raise money.
South America: After its positive impact in Brazil, OMG extended its volunteer efforts to Bolivia, Ecuador, and finally, to Peru. Meanwhile, Father Ugo became the pastor of Chacas, a village in the Andes Mountains of Peru. His sacrifice and dedication to those in need set an example for many young people who desired to follow his lead.
After a life spent for the young and poor people, Father Ugo dies in Lima on December 2, 2018. The mission he has left continues to be supported by volunteers. Nowadays they are more than 500 living in the four countries, some who have raised their own families and lived there for as many as 30 years. In Peru alone, they organize projects in 69 different communities. ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Here are a few examples of our projects:
- nursing school
- hospital for the poor
- home for the elderly
- homes for abandoned and orphans
- training institute for teachers
- seminary
- reforestation and agricultural campaigns
- mountain shelters and hostel for tourists
- hydroelectric company and power plants
- potable water facilities and irrigation canals
- clinics and food distribution outlet
To learn more, download the PDF of Operazione Mato Grosso.
Los Talleres
Not only art but… a story of love and compassion
These works of art are the result of a wonderful Love Story that began in Peru a few decades ago. Most of the main characters of this story were only 12 years old when it all started and they had to answer some questions:
“Do you have a mother? Do you have father? How many siblings you have? Is the roof of your house made out of straw, sheet metal or tiles? How many cows of sheep does you family have?” Only they extreme poverty allowed them to “pass” the exam in order to enroll in one of the many schools of Operazione Mato Grosso, founded by Father Ugo di Censi, an Italian missionary. Together with oder children, they will stay in our boarding schools for five years, receiving for free: a bed to sleep in, clothes, food, medicines, education and above all, the care and kindness of the volunteers (laypeople and priests). During these years, they will learn art: woodwork, stonework, glasswork, metalwork, sewing, weaving embroidery, mosaic and more. The love they receive, and their innate abilities of patience, silence, manual dexterity, and sacrifice have shaped hundreds of young artists.
“Do you have a mother? Do you have father? How many siblings you have? Is the roof of your house made out of straw, sheet metal or tiles? How many cows of sheep does you family have?” Only they extreme poverty allowed them to “pass” the exam in order to enroll in one of the many schools of Operazione Mato Grosso, founded by Father Ugo di Censi, an Italian missionary. Together with oder children, they will stay in our boarding schools for five years, receiving for free: a bed to sleep in, clothes, food, medicines, education and above all, the care and kindness of the volunteers (laypeople and priests). During these years, they will learn art: woodwork, stonework, glasswork, metalwork, sewing, weaving embroidery, mosaic and more. The love they receive, and their innate abilities of patience, silence, manual dexterity, and sacrifice have shaped hundreds of young artists.
Experts came from Italy to teach the young people the art of woodworking, sculptors, painters, restorers and carpenters. Even local masters or from other provinces approached Father Hugo to support his initiative. How many artists and craftsmen Father Hugo managed to involve in his dream! How many good people were impressed by the ability of the Peruvian children, by their manual skills and wanted to share their art. Following the story of Chacas, new workshops were opened in other remote villages in the Andes and also in Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador. Thanks to the Italian volunteers of OMG and to the children themselves who, after finishing school, became teachers, new workshops were opened.
The highest course of studies, recognized by the Peruvian government as valid for secondary school, lasts 5 years. The children, chosen among the poorest of the communities, receive free education, learn a job, an art, but also the love for their neighbor and the people. It is structured as a boarding school, so we really grow with them and share every moment. All the children, after school, receive the tools, which are essential to earn an honest living.
The highest course of studies, recognized by the Peruvian government as valid for secondary school, lasts 5 years. The children, chosen among the poorest of the communities, receive free education, learn a job, an art, but also the love for their neighbor and the people. It is structured as a boarding school, so we really grow with them and share every moment. All the children, after school, receive the tools, which are essential to earn an honest living.
Las cooperativas
“We provide work, so that they will stay near to their origins, to their people, to moral values, and so that they can be good people who also help those in need of them”.
— Father Ugo de Censi
Upon their graduation from the trade schools, they can join the Don Bosco Artisans Family where they can work as independent artisans and earn a living for themselves and their families, remaining in their village without being forced to migrate to the big cities or to other countries. In their free time, they will help the volunteers in educational, social and religious work in their villages, taking care of the most vulnerable and poor people like the elderly, the sick, and the children. They will joyfully “give back” the kindness they have received for free.
Artesanos Don Bosco (ADB) is a non-profit organization that supports self-employed, skilled artisans in Peru. Like all of Latin America, Peru also suffers from a historical process, migration to the cities and the abandonment of the Andes. The dream of a more technological life, perhaps more job opportunities, more education for the children. Father Ugo, not wanting to abandon his children to the mirage of the capital, decided in 1985 to create the Association of Artisans Don Bosco Peru. The purpose of the association is to bring together young artisans who want to stay and live in the Andes in their local community, helping the poorest.
Artesanos Don Bosco (ADB) is a non-profit organization that supports self-employed, skilled artisans in Peru. Like all of Latin America, Peru also suffers from a historical process, migration to the cities and the abandonment of the Andes. The dream of a more technological life, perhaps more job opportunities, more education for the children. Father Ugo, not wanting to abandon his children to the mirage of the capital, decided in 1985 to create the Association of Artisans Don Bosco Peru. The purpose of the association is to bring together young artisans who want to stay and live in the Andes in their local community, helping the poorest.
Volunteers in Italy, Lima, Cajamarca, Cuzco and other important cities in Latin America try to find work for the artisans. The aim is that by marketing their products, it is not necessary to leave their land. It gives the opportunity to young people to remain in their villages while earning an income and improve their lives. Thus, they are no longer forced to migrate to earn a living.
ADB began as an association of artisans, following the first graduation. They can open their own business or choose to join ADB. Each artisan (about 400 nowadays) operates as an individual micro-business, paying monthly taxes. They are self-employed, sharing machines and tools in one of 13 workshops across Peru. Each product offered for sale by the Association Artisans Don Bosco, is the fruit of this collaboration between artisans and missionaries. For this seed that has remained at its root, we always remember that it has the imprint of gratuitousness.
ADB began as an association of artisans, following the first graduation. They can open their own business or choose to join ADB. Each artisan (about 400 nowadays) operates as an individual micro-business, paying monthly taxes. They are self-employed, sharing machines and tools in one of 13 workshops across Peru. Each product offered for sale by the Association Artisans Don Bosco, is the fruit of this collaboration between artisans and missionaries. For this seed that has remained at its root, we always remember that it has the imprint of gratuitousness.
The volunteers of Operation Mato Grosso have founded new schools that, in addition to carpentry, teach children other arts: the specialty in sculpture has been enriched with stone and marble, so that in the design of furniture, inlays and details of different materials are inserted. The glass workshop has started for the realization of leaded, enameled and grisaille windows, and works with glass. For some years now, restoration, gilding and painting workshops have also been held. Along with these, a group of artisans specialized in embossing precious metals and chisels has started. In addition to a group dedicated to the fusion of mosaic and glass. For the girls in parallel, embroidery, lily and pillow, loom and weaving workshops were started, which allowed the mothers to support themselves without altering their life in the Andes.
All together with the parishes, for a continuous collaboration with the aid activities of the communities. Each laboratory has specialized in a different technique or in several, also based on the teachers who led the group and the job opportunities that have arisen over the years. Everyone is united by a single desire: to create works of art by working on our land and to be able to help even the poorest.
In 2008, ADB came to the U.S. — to Baltimore. The artisans’ work is now featured in 16 churches (St. Peter and Paul in Easton, MD among them) and their furniture has been sold to customers throughout the U.S
In 2008, ADB came to the U.S. — to Baltimore. The artisans’ work is now featured in 16 churches (St. Peter and Paul in Easton, MD among them) and their furniture has been sold to customers throughout the U.S
Our Style
The technique used to craft each piece of furniture is a tongue-and-groove technique, which results in a more meticulous carving compared to the ordinary hammer and nails technique. The signature-ruffled surface of the wood is done by hand with a plane and ruler. These pieces of art are so unique because one artisan works on one piece from commencement until completion, and then his name is etched in an obscure part of the wood, just as an artist’s signature on a canvas. All proceeds collected from the sales of the furniture and other pieces of artwork, allow the artisan’s family to improve their lives often near their hometowns, instead of having to migrate to find work elsewhere. Proceeds go towards supporting the artisans, their families and their communities.
Each work, from the wood carved furniture to the marble carved statue, is a unique piece and has a high value because it is handmade by a single craftsman who performs all the work with great skill and dedication. This also justifies small differences or changes during the course of the work. The same principle applies to our weaving and glass works, while for sacred art or works of a certain size, the work becomes a great collaboration with different craftsmen and masters, a continuous resumption of work to create harmony, to which is added the value of teamwork.
For our creations, we carefully choose the raw materials that we then work with great meticulousness to be able to offer works of the highest quality. Every project we tackle at Artesanos Don Bosco is significant. Since 1990, we have been making furniture rooted in our tradition of carving and artistry, fused with a contemporary vision.
For our creations, we carefully choose the raw materials that we then work with great meticulousness to be able to offer works of the highest quality. Every project we tackle at Artesanos Don Bosco is significant. Since 1990, we have been making furniture rooted in our tradition of carving and artistry, fused with a contemporary vision.
This combination, along with our social commitment to artisans and their communities, ensures that every piece that leaves our workshops is special, with a story deeply rooted in artisan wisdom, artistry and community well-being.
All the proceeds from the artwork will go directly to the artist who created it. You can find their name and the workshop where each of these pieces of art were made engraved on the artwork itself. It is a unique piece, just like all Love Stories are unique. So if you decide to purchase this artwork, you will not only bring home some high quality unique piece of art, but you will become part of this Love Story as well.
All the proceeds from the artwork will go directly to the artist who created it. You can find their name and the workshop where each of these pieces of art were made engraved on the artwork itself. It is a unique piece, just like all Love Stories are unique. So if you decide to purchase this artwork, you will not only bring home some high quality unique piece of art, but you will become part of this Love Story as well.
