Palau: Time And Talent Served

Travel to paradise — and go shopping at a jail? That's exactly what savvy island travelers do on the idyllic equatorial archipelago of Palau in the western Caroline Islands. At the correctional facility on the island of Koror, a hundred or so prisoners can earn the opportunity to learn a traditional craft: making storyboards, amazingly intricate wood carvings that depict the legends of the land. More than half of the prisoners spend time carving shapes like turtles, starfish and even divers' tanks into mahogany panels. Choose from hundreds of pieces hung in the jailhouse shop, where you can learn the tales of the breadfruit tree and the spider god. Your purchase will help prisoners make restitution, support their families and develop a skill that will carry them to freedom. visit-palau.com