The Pulsera Project began in 2009 when a group of friends traveling in Nicaragua discovered a shelter for ex-street kids in the foothills of Managua. The youths were masters of weaving pulseras (bracelets) but had little market for their artwork in Nicaragua.Some of the friends returned home and enlisted students at two US schools to sell the youths’ pulseras.

Now, three years later, scores of young Nicaraguan artists partner with students in more than 800 US schools, weaving the art of the pulsera into a positive and colorful force across the US and Nicaragua.

For many pulsera artists, weaving pulseras began as art therapy in shelters where they grew up. For others, the native art was passed down from previous generations. For all, pulsera weaving remains central to the stories of their lives –stories that they gladly share through Pulsera Project films and writings - stories that enrich our understanding of the world.

Each pulsera takes about two hours to make, comes tagged with the picture and signature of the artist, and is woven with the rich personal history of the person who made it. When you wear a pulsera, you not only share the voice of a young Nicaraguan, but you raise your own voice too, speaking out for opportunity, unity, and a more equal and colorful world.