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 Local founders Fred and Janneth Johnson provide locals with dazzling handmade textiles, art and accessories from artists in South America and by doing so, help preserve African-Ecuadorian cultures in Ecuador.
After paying artists fair wages and covering bare operating costs, the store donates all its proceeds to African-Ecuadorian students pursuing graduate and undergraduate studies.
Right now South American Secrets is supporting a handful of students through its donation efforts. Representing Ecuador's marginalized communities, each pupil's remarkable journey to attend college often requires a six-hour canoe trip or helicopter flight just to get to a bus stop.
"Eighty-five percent of Ecuadorians never even set foot in these villages. They don't even know they exist," Fred added.
The research projects students choose have the potential to help their own villages. The academic focus ranges from cultural and anthropological studies to scientific pursuits. One student is examining local river pollution, which could aid in the fight against logging companies—an industry that has not only ravaged river water but exploited many regions in Ecuador.
"These students are amazing people," said Fred, who tries to visit them a couple of times a year. Their homes seldom have electricity or running water.
The Johnsons wanted to help preserve these cultures somehow, but said it felt too intrusive, even insulting, to go in themselves. They knew that the right heroes and leaders already existed within their own villages.
In an attempt to bypass the political corruption in Ecuador, South American Secrets works with both Ecuadorian universities and two major nongovernmental agencies—one in the United States and one in Ecuador—to ensure the money gets to the students. The funds cover transportation, study materials, food and other essentials.
South American Secrets was a concept and a cause that both the Johnsons have nurtured for a long time. They initially started the company four years ago as a wholesale business. That wholesale component still exists, but now that the Sonoma shop has been added, South American Secrets can sell its wares directly to customers.
And what wares they are. Scarves, ponchos and sweaters —all drenched in rich color - fill the store alongside burnished bamboo furniture, wooden sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, carved chessboards and more. Paintings laden with symbolic imagery line the walls—from the surreal flight of a bullet train to the emergence of hundreds of butterflies from a crowded cityscape.
Every artist has a powerful story to tell, and such works are meticulously, painstakingly crafted.
Products have been priced affordably because, as Fred pointed out, "We want to be a part of the community, not a store that comes in just with the focus on tourists. If you don't take care of your locals, your business will fall apart."
Fred grew up in Sonoma County and is currently bartender at the Girl and the Fig. His wife, Janneth, comes from Ecuador.
"There's such a draw to Sonoma. I've worked here in the restaurant business and I like the climate. You walk into the Plaza and everyone is happy here," Fred said.
South American Secrets is located at 25 E. Napa St., Suite E, in the Sonoma Court Shops. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week. Call 996-6707,
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