Our Story

Parish is an economic development project to produce hand-crafted, high quality, solid, hardwood home accessories and furniture for the local market and export to the US, while training Peruvian men in trade, business, and spiritual disciplines.

We are a group of carpenters striving to use environmentally responsible raw materials in beautifully unique ways. All of us are convinced that our calling is to use our gifts to make our corner of God's creation a better place.

Parish is unique in that it is one of the first wood shops to produce furniture with pona, a sustainable wood native to Peru. Striving to be “good stewards of the earth,” we make use of the pona that has been left on the jungle floor following the clear-cutting of the Peruvian jungle. Nicknamed “black palm” for its unique darkness, this extremely hard wood neither rots nor is susceptible to insects. This incredibly dense and beautifully elegant black material is a species of grass that regrows in twenty years. It has generally been used for flooring. We are introducing this material into the furniture and home decor market. You will see it featured in the majority of our products, though we do work with other woods also.

We are a branch of the economic development ministry of Peru Mission.  To read more about our story and ongoing updates, please visit our blog at www.parishfurniture.blogspot.com.

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Javier, Gerver, Stuart, Kevin and Norvil