From Contra Crosses to Cultural Crafts

Over the years, our eBay shops TraderBrock and MolaMagic have served thousands of customers around the world. Along the way, we’ve built meaningful relationships with many of them. More than a few have asked how this journey began, which got me thinking about the story myself.

It all started near the end of my Peace Corps service in Honduras, where I served from 1988 to 1990 during a tense time in Central America right in the middle of the Contra/Sandinista conflict. I was working as a small business advisor, but what sparked this path wasn’t my day job.

As my service was winding down, a friend of mine the military attaché at the U.S. Embassy invited me to join him on a visit to a Contra rehabilitation center. At the time, it was against Peace Corps policy for volunteers to enter such places, but I was nearly done with my assignment. I thought, “What are they going to do, send me home early?”

That visit left a lasting impression. The center was filled with former combatants learning trades building furniture, crafting brooms, painting but what stood out were the Contra Crosses. These were pieces of jewelry made from spent ammunition. I had heard that these crosses had once helped raise funds for the Contra cause, but in that moment, what struck me most was the craftsmanship and the story behind them. Whether it was empathy or curiosity, I bought a large batch of them, thinking I might have something to sell when I returned home unemployed.

As it turned out, when one door closes, another opens.

I didn’t return to the U.S. right away. Instead, I landed in Panama a country I knew well shortly after the fall of Noriega, during a period when the economy was struggling. I began working with artisan cooperatives, helping them bring their crafts to the U.S. military bases still stationed there.

One day, I decided to add the Contra Crosses to the mix, alongside molas and woven baskets. That’s when everything clicked. U.S. military personnel, many of whom had firsthand awareness of the Contra/Sandinista conflict, were drawn to the jewelry instantly. It resonated with them as art, as memory, as conversation.

The Contra Crosses became more than just a product. They were icebreakers, connection points, and the first stepping stone in what would become a lifelong journey into the world of Latin American folk art and fair trade.

I made a decent living but more importantly, I made lasting friendships and found a mission I believed in.