At the juncture of North and South Americas, many cultures converge in Panama. The land was already peopled by many Indian tribes, the present-day Wounaan and Guaymi Indians among them. Spanish colonizing forces were the first to recognize the strategic value of Panama's location as the narrowest point between the Atlantic and Pacific. Many countries including Great Britain, the US and France set their sights on Panama as well, as the optimal link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the gateway to South America and its riches, plantation land or as fertile territory for missionaries.

In Panama, Crossroads Trade buys from Kuna, Wounaan and Embara Indian artisans and cooperatives. The Kuna Indians live in Kuna Yala (land of the Kuna), or Comarca San Blas, an archipelago of some 350 islands off the north coast of Panama. Coconuts, transported to Cartagena, Colombia, are the main cash crop. Fishing, hunting and subsistence farming on the mainland are the dietary staples. Mola making is increasingly a source of income for Kuna women.

The Wounaan and Embera Indians inhabit Panama's Darien province, among the most remote territory in the hemisphere. Increasingly encroached upon by loggers and settlers, the Darien and Los Katios National Park in Colombia remain the last holdouts in completing the Interamerican Highway. Practitioners of subsistence hunting and farming, the Wounaan and Embera live deep in the rainforest. Rainy season activities are the men's vibrant wood and tagua nut carvings, and the exquisite basketry of the women.