The El Salvador articles come from the village of La Palma, in the mountains near the Honduras border. Pine trees grow everywhere.

It began when an artist, Fernando Llort, settled there with his wife’s family and began painting on the seed of the copinal tree, a local fruit tree. Other villagers came to watch and asked to be taught. From that grew a whole industry.

The men cut the pine and shape it, the designs are screen printed on and then go to many of the homes to be painted. The whole family becomes involved.