Nancy R Koerner
PIONEER, ADVENTURER, WOODCARVER, WRITER, PRODUCER, ENTREPRENEUR
PIONEER, ADVENTURER, WOODCARVER, WRITER, PRODUCER, ENTREPRENEUR
When Nancy Koerner went to Belize, Central America in 1976 as a young "gringa" pioneer, with her husband, and infant son, Belize was also in its infancy, and it had been the start of a diaspora of young Americans. She lived in the Maya Mountains, in the western forests, near Guatemala, where they were poor subsistence farmers. It was the natural life; she chopped wood, carried water, lived in a thatch hut, washed clothes in the river, and carried her baby on her back.
Always creative, she started hand-carving miniatures out of exotic Honduran rosewood burl, and selling them to British Army troops who were stationed in Belize for jungle training, and hungry for souvenirs to take back to U.K. The association endured, and it became the beginning of an era in woodworking. Now, decades later, Nancy lives in the U.S. but maintain close ties with the family wood shop in Belize. She is licensed CITES-approved importer of Honduran rosewood burl (HRB) and, as a veteran wood carver, she has been involved in original wood creations for over 40 years.