PEACEBOMB, or The Art of War

At Storie, we are always looking for good human stories, craft traditions, and projects where making beautiful things serves human dignity, equality and cultural diversity. But this one touched us as few have.

This is the story of PeaceBomb, a project by the fair design brand Article 22. It now lets whole families in the rural north of Laos make a decent living making jewelry from the recycled metal of the bombs that still litter the Laotian countryside.

The devil's rain

Let's go back a few decades for a sad record. Between 1962 and 1975, Laos became the most bombed country in human history (by number of bombs per inhabitant). In a "covert" war that is still taboo across the Atlantic, the American army dropped more than 250 million cluster bombs, a monstrous weapon invented to cover as large an area as possible with anti-personnel explosives. (An international convention now bans them, although the countries most concerned have not yet ratified it, the United States and Russia among others.) The vague aim was to stop North Vietnamese forces from withdrawing, even though they were far from there.

National Museum of the USAF - photo 061127-F-1234S-017

In 1970, Senator Stuart Symington told a US Congress that knew little about the war in Laos: "the bombing of North Vietnam" was "not fair because too many limits were placed on the pilots, but in Laos we use military force without restraint and the results are more satisfactory."

Of those millions of tons of explosives, an estimated 30% did not go off and are still live in the Laotian countryside. Nearly 300 people a year die from contact with them, and many more are badly hurt, often losing limbs or their sight.

The reality is that after coming from the sky, the threat now comes from the ground. Farmers work the land at the risk of their lives, and in a country where 80% of the population lives on subsistence farming, these bombs are one of the main causes of the appalling impoverishment of these rural regions.

A stock of weapons recovered from the Laotian countryside.

This is where our story begins. Of all the villages in this battered region, Ban Naphia, near Phonsavan, was one of the hardest hit. Its people were forced into exile during the bombing and came back years later to land that was ravaged, and above all deadly. Efforts to clear it are tiny and, at this rate, will take more than 800 more years. The United States spent 9 million dollars on clearance in 2012 (3 million in 2011). By comparison, it dropped 17 million dollars of munitions on the country every day, the equivalent of one B-52 payload every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years.

Deadly recycling

As a result, a new subsistence economy has grown up around salvaging the metal from these bombs, if they do not explode first. Mostly children, but also farmers and women, collect it and sell it for a few cents a kilo to scrap dealers. Some lose a limb, some lose their lives, and when it is the father, the whole family is doomed.

On a trip to the region for Helvetas, a Swiss NGO, Elizabeth Suda was struck by the ingenuity of some of the artisans of Ban Naphia. Helvetas raised awareness among the people, and UXO Lao, the national clearance program, got involved. Thanks to both, several families now recover the metal safely and turn it into spoons cast in aluminum. They sell them on the local market (the locals love soup, which is delicious, by the way) and as souvenirs for the few tourists who pass through. This craft brings these families an income they badly need.

Aluminum submunitions from cluster bombs. Most of the live submunitions in Laos are the size of a tin can. They lie buried a few centimeters below the surface, mostly killing civilians and keeping the bombed countries from developing again.

Inspired, and convinced she could open new markets for these artisans and improve daily life in the village, Elizabeth left a prime job in New York fashion and threw herself into the project. The result is a superb line of jewelry, handmade by the victims of an absurd war from weapons of mass destruction. For her it is a way to tell the story to the rest of the world. For all of us it is a chance, perhaps, to make amends, or at least not to forget.

"We have to understand the long-term effects, the scars on the land, the body and the collective memory that these wars inflict."

A village in the Xieng Khuang region, one of the hardest-hit provinces. 25% of the land is still mined. At the current pace of clearance, the job will take more than 800 years.

Material with a negative footprint becomes an object of creation with a positive message.

The hardest part was convincing the artisans that a jewelry line made sense. Spoons, yes, everybody uses spoons! But jewelry? After 12 months she managed to produce the first bracelet prototypes, which became the PEACEBOMB jewelry line. Three years later the artisans are convinced, and they are the ones who keep innovating and proposing new designs.

Elizabeth Suda and the artisans of the Peacebomb project.

The material, scrap from a war that keeps killing, is a constant reminder of the hell some of them went through and some still live in. Yet the artisans also see it as a new source of income that lets them go beyond subsistence and build a future.

War machines. Peacebomb is made from a mix of aluminum sources, including the stabilizing fins of shells, pieces of submunitions, and metal hardware from aircraft and other debris. These resources are in high demand, and the processing chain is now part of the local economy.

Once the metal has been recycled through controlled, secured channels, it is supplied to the families who process it. They melt it in their terracotta furnaces, then pour it with a large ladle into molds made of a "plaster" of sawdust and wood ash. Once it cools, the piece is taken out and the hardest part begins: the finish is sanded entirely by hand with sandpaper. The latest, more complex models required the skills of several jewelers who have joined the operation, which further improves the artisans' know-how and technique.

Clay furnace and molds made of sawdust and wood ash, used to make spoons.

A family story

This project has brought new life to the village. In a region where rural life is normally so hard and families scatter to the cities, the trend has begun to reverse. There are no factories here. Each artisan family built its own clay furnace and brought back uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents to help with production.

Husband and wife make a team of metalworkers here. Other family members are expected to join the business.

The village is gradually coming back to life, families are reuniting, the know-how is being passed on, and each year more artisans are trained in metalwork. The whole village is building new infrastructure to improve livelihoods and living conditions. NGOs like Helvetas help residents improve their furnaces and housing and manage their resources better, and Elizabeth helps the families organize into real, lasting small businesses. The income pays for daily life, healthier and more varied food, the children's schooling and the family's health, and allows longer-term investments such as livestock and crops.

Besides building a whole economic chain, what matters most to Elizabeth and the PeaceBomb project is the safety of the people in this region, who face the danger of the countless explosives that haunt the countryside. They work on it in 3 ways. First, they consolidated the supply chain with NGOs and government organizations on the ground. Foundries and dismantling warehouses were set up so artisans can get their material safely.

Second, through education. Every artisan working on the project is trained by Helvetas in the dangers of handling explosives, and can in turn train their relatives so that no one collects them without help anymore.

Finally, by investing directly in the huge job of clearance. Each bracelet sold pays to clear 3 m2 of land, which adds up to more than 60,000 m2 since the launch in 2011.

Clearing an unsecured area. Article 22 works with clearance organizations to secure the supply of raw materials and to raise awareness among the people.

In addition, 10% of the profits generated by the project go directly into a fund managed by the NGO Helvetas. It pays for structural projects such as the electricity grid, and also serves as a micro-credit fund for families, the local bank.

Helvetas's RISE project helped the community set up a sustainable energy network with the funds generated by sales of Peacebomb jewelry. Through this project, and the film "Buying Back the Bombs", which she co-directed with Sam Rowland and launched on International Peace Day in 2011, Elizabeth hopes to remind us of the history of this battered country, which still suffers the consequences of our past mistakes, and to introduce us to its gentle, warm people, who forgave in spite of everything.

Bringing a small piece of wounded land back to life, one bracelet at a time. Now that is a good story.

Mrs. Bouphan harvests rice from her fields thanks to clearance operations. 25% of the land is still unusable in a country where nearly 80% of the population lives on a subsistence economy.

"Our goal is humble: to support the artisans and the clearance efforts in Laos," says Elizabeth. "If people take that away with their bracelet, we are happy. All the more if it reminds them that 30% of these bombs still injure and kill children and farmers. I hope that simple fact reminds everyone of the legacy of war and inspires a deep desire for peace. And for the wars raging today and in the future, I sincerely hope this bracelet shows that the great spirit of humanity endures, whatever happens."

Phet, son of the first villager to master the art of melting down bombs, in 1975.

Article 22 seeks to develop and sustain family businesses so that future generations can benefit from what the previous one achieved. The next generation is studying and branching out. The village has decided to make education a priority, and a new investment fund will be set up.

Buying Back the Bombs

The story of the artisans who turn deadly metal into Article 22 jewelry, set against the secret war in Laos from 1964 to 1973, which left a bled-dry country holding the record for bombs per inhabitant.

Production: Bigballs film, Elizabeth and Wallis Suda.
Director: Sam Rowland
Original music: Arthur Lea

To learn more:
www.article22.com
Helvetas: An NGO working for security, dignity and self-determination. A Visit to Laos - Noam Chomsky - The New York Review of Books, July 23, 1970
A "camouflaged" American war - by Noam Chomsky
Laos: the most heavily bombed country in the world - OXFAM
The Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme

Peacebomb is the first collection from the New York brand. Promoting a new vision of luxury and fashion, and not separating the beautiful from the good, or form from substance: that is what its founder, Liz Suda, has managed to create.

The name, Article 22, refers to the twenty-second article of the United Nations Declaration. "Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality." Inspired by these words, Article 22 invented a virtuous circle that turns the remnants of war into precious jewelry while giving the poor people of the Vientiane region a lasting source of income. Article 22 combines craft skills with contemporary design. It creates style and spreads meaning by raising awareness.

The team

Elizabeth Suda, founder and creative director, is originally from New York. Liz has always wondered how the things we consume are made, and who makes them.

Her wish to build a business that supports women through craft began after a volunteer assignment with a textile supply chain for the Swiss NGO Helvetas. She realized how big the obstacles of market access and design are for craft supply chains. Article 22 is that link between producers in the East and us, bringing their stories, their traditions and their know-how.

Inspired by contemporary art and design and passionate about craft, Liz has made Article 22 an internationally recognized brand. The story of Peacebomb, the first collection that turns weapons into jewelry, has gone around the world. Al Jazeera, ZDF, TV5 Monde, the LA Times and Glamour have covered it, and stars such as model Angela Lindvall and actress Olivia Wilde have worn the brand.

Camille Hautefort, co-founder and social business development. After a career in international finance and investment banking at BNP Paribas New York, Camille wrote business plans for companies of all sizes. Her passion for fashion and design, and meeting Elizabeth in 2011, led her to change careers. Today she works to grow Article 22 so it can launch ever more craft and sustainable development projects.