Mia wanted to play all afternoon, 2 girls from Brazil leaving, everyone sad.
This is our last day with Aída Males. We've grown to like her very much. We took as many pictures of her products as we could in hopes that some of them may become popular in the U.S. We will be able to visit her on Saturdays when she goes to the Otavalo market. She invited us to come back before we leave. We definitely will.
This morning, her sister-in-law Graciela asked us to come over and take pictures of their new products. They have borrowed money from the bank to buy a new laser machine for cutting out and burning beautiful designs into the wood from which they make jewelry and boxes. It cost $14,000. Now they are hoping these new designs will sell well enough to cover their payments to the bank for the next three years. They made a delightful keychain for Chris with the Minga logo on it. Our hopes for them and for all the Males family are very high. They are so creative, so patient with us, so humble in their desires to get ahead. It would break my heart if they couldn't succeed in craft work.
We climbed on the bus with hearts and eyes brimming. What a beautiful visit this has been, far out in the country, hearing the rain on the roof and seeing the fog roll in each evening, hearing the laughter of this kind family, spread across the acres of ground willed them by their parents. We have truly been blessed here.
We arrived in Otavalo at the house of Romel and Raquel and their four-year-old daughter, Mia, in the early afternoon. Romel brought us to the house of Gladys Anrrango and Carlos Burga, husband and wife, who make the acrylic scarves. They have been working with Minga for a long time, and have just finished a new workshop, larger than the one we visited in 2010. It is a family owned enterprise, with brothers, sisters and cousins all working together.
We were amazed by how well the looms are maintained. Most of them were made in the 1950's and discarded from factories in the U.S. It is just incredible to me that they can keep them running so well. Most of the parts have long been discontinued, but that does not faze the Ecuadorean entrepreneur. They just machine new parts to replace the old ones and keep going. The noise is incredible--there have to be 10 or 12 machines in the one shed. Each machine uses a punch strip to create the pattern. The punch strip itself is created in the office on a machine that was dated in the 1910's or 20's. It looks really, really antique--similar to an ancient Underwood typewriter.
It was absolutely surreal to see Carlos design a pattern on the brand new computer screen, then transfer it to the punch strip machine. The punch strip will go onto a mechanical receptacle on the loom and cause it to make a complicated herringbone pattern in the cloth. Our interview was brief, but heartfelt. Carlos explained that their hope was simply to keep the business going. They want to feed and educate their kids, and this is the only way they can. Before we left, they showed us how the scarves are cut from the bolt of woven thread (there is a part with no weft which shows where to cut). Then they demonstrated how the scarves are "ironed"--laid flat between layers of thick parchment and set over a wood fire, very low. They come out with a very nice crisp finish, provided by the heat and the woodsmoke.
When we returned to Romel's house, their daughter Mia wanted to play with the newcomers all afternoon. It was not just because we were new, but this hospitable family was saying goodbye to two young women who had been staying with them for a couple of months. I think Mia wanted to replace her playmates before they left. A good day for all of us, and a lot to be written up for Minga in terms of artisan interviews. We went to bed early to be ready for the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment