Since 1970, a passage from Robert Ardrey’s book African Genesis has remained with me.
To paraphrase: “the further one sees from the tip of their nose, the greater that person’s maturity.” Seeing the big world matters!
Two local individuals, with differing yet parallel stories, exemplify Ardrey’s hypothesis.
Cornell College art professor emeritus Doug Hanson and CAUSETEAM owner Amanda Rhomberg respectively connect Mount Vernon to far-away locales.
Hanson, renowned for his teaching and ceramic exhibits throughout the United States, includes Nicaragua, Mexico, Japan, and England on his international résumé.
In 1986 Cornell sent Doug to Costa Rica to explore collegiate involvement in that nation’s arts. In the capitol San Jose, he encountered Fred Morris (a United Methodist minister and Cornell grad).
Morris asked Hanson, “would you like to visit Nicaragua?”
Doug responded, “It’s a dangerous place.”
In Central America, Nicaragua was then in the throes of the Contra war.
Morris then asked Hanson to connect with a Washington D.C. group of women potters who had Nicaraguan ties. Soon thereafter, following his art lecture in Wisconsin, two attendees invited Doug to accompany these East Coast potters to Nicaragua.
In 1987 Doug first journeyed to Nicaragua with that D.C. group. The trip gathered like-minded people. They formed Potters for Peace (PFP). Doug served on the PFP board until 2021.
Under PFP’s auspices, Doug traveled to Nicaragua 4 times, visiting women’s pottery collectives, individual artists, and ceramics factories. PFP imports Nicaraguan pottery to the United States, including items sold at Doug’s in-home studio. Proceeds financially support Nicaraguan potters.
Amanda’s Haitian connection was birthed through an adoption story. Her husband John Rhomberg visited Haiti on a Community Health Initiative trip in 2012. He then met two boys who would eventually become their adopted sons.
Flying to Haiti in 2013, Amanda met sons-to-be Nelson and Jackson. She also traveled for another purpose. In talking with other adopting families, Amanda brainstormed ways to fundraise for Haiti. Initially they imagined selling hand sanitizer, but also thought about diverse product lines “that people would love.”
Three known fundraising platforms became models. “Bonfire is a custom t-shirt fundraising company, GoFundMe raises money online, and Braided Breads provides magazine sales. We wanted to combine the best of all three,” Amanda explained.
First a website, then a downtown Mount Vernon physical store was created by Amanda. Initially called One Mission, it’s now rebranded as CAUSETEAM.
The adoption process took four years during which Amanda made 11 trips to Haiti. Seeking out Haitian artists, she purchased their creations, bringing items home to sell through her business. Proceeds return to Haitian artists, allowing for new artwork to be purchased.
Besides Haitian art, Rhomberg’s growing business CAUSETEAM sells custom t-shirts, mugs, and signs. A creative center, it now has three full-time and three part-time employees.
Both Hanson and Rhomberg recognized the needs of artisans in impoverished Nicaragua and Haiti. Both have, for years, extended personal effort to connect internationally, to help artisans receive dignified, respectful income.
Our Mount Vernon community is enriched thanks to their international outreach.
Both Hanson and Rhomberg were able to see into the world far beyond the tips of their nose. Robert Ardrey would be proud.
Amanda Rhomberg holds metal artwork crafted by artisans in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Pierre made the heart, pounding and chiseling the design from metal drum scraps. Claude created the cross with the same materials and tools. Second Story Goods was Rhomberg’s source for her necklace. Behind Rhomberg, in her downtown CAUSETEAM business, hangs a poster which features her two adoptive sons Jackson (striped, white shirt) and Nelson (looking at Jackson).