Featured Artisans

Ancient Americas Trading Company wants to connect you, our consumer, with the artisan who made your product. We strive to make those connections during your shopping experience, and hope that you will feel connected to the world each time you use or wear your product from Ancient Americas Trading Co.

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A brief introduction to our
Ecuadorian Artisans

These Ecuadorian Artisans are indigenous people from South America, settled specifically in the countries of Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. These people have created their own forms of coexistence, however, with the Spanish conquest, several of the peoples have disappeared and with it their forms of life and art. However, there are people who have persisted, despite the great social, economic and political difficulties that have become part of their life permanently.

This is how, in Ecuador, the indigenous people (Otavaleños) today are considered great artisans; having inherited their skills from their ancestors. They found the patterns and models of their fabrics in the tombs of their ancestors, who made their garments on wooden looms using sheep's wool as raw material.

Through history and up to the present, there are indigenous people who use clothing made with their own hands. All the garments such as ponchos, pants, anacos and even hats were made with sheep's wool on the cashua (back strap loom) before the Spanish Conquest.

With the Spanish conquest came the wooden floor looms, the same ones that were considered the best at the time. On these looms the indigenous people were enslaved to make fabrics that competed with those found in France and those found in Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is unknown how the ancestor of that area had these abilities and at present they try to maintain their high quality.

For the finishing of these garments, they use ajugas, needles, shoelaces, cashua looms, wooden looms cards, lathes and various tools made by their ancestors and those that came with the Spanish. The finishing of the garments in these looms is more laborious and of better quality. It can take up to three weeks to make a poncho. They still manipulate the raw sheep's wool through hand carding, spinning and dying with natural dyes.

Some of these artisans are nationally recognized for their designs and quality of their products, and some are now proud to be part of Ancient Americas Trading Co.

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