The Art of Mola is an online store founded and run by Emma Valencia (16 years old), a high school student at Balboa Academy in Panama City in the Republic of Panama. 100% of the profits of The Art of Mola online store go directly to the Guna women that create the molas, turning The Art of Mola into a sustainable source of income for a community that has been highly hit by the lack of tourism during the pandemic. Foreigners -residents or temporary travelers- are often dazzled by the molas and are the most common buyers, so nowadays, a lot of Guna families are facing serious financial problems.

The Guna people are proud defenders of their land and customs and driven individuals that, through the last one hundred years or so, have been integrated as active and productive citizens of the Republic of Panama. Just to take one example, in the links section of this site, we share the story of Diwigdi Valiente, an activist, thinker, entrepreneur, and son of a lawyer-activist. Almost all the members of his family hold college degrees and a great part of their education was paid by the profits of the molas made by their mothers, sisters, and aunties.

Our artists

Usually, this extremely laborious work remains anonymous. We wanted these women to tell the world who they are and share their stories. Our site is unique in that we provide a certificate of authenticity and the name of the artist behind the mola, along with some basic information like age, place of residence, hours invested in the mola, and a short explanation about the piece. The idea is to empower the Guna women, making them visible and proud carriers of their culture and its unique art for the generations to come as women entrepreneurs.