eradicating poverty and improving the quality of life for the people of Latin America.
WORKING
El Buen Amigo works for better lives and the human rights of our sisters and brothers in Central and South America, where economies sagging, unemployment is high and vocational opportunities are few.
HUMAN DIGNITY
El Buen Amigo enhances human dignity by providing a marketing outlet for the skilled craftspeople of Haiti, Mexico, U.S.A., Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Venezuela.
LATIN AMERICAN SOLIDARITY
El Buen Amigo, through the Latin American Cultural Association [LACA], creates understanding and appreciation of Latin American culture and present day conditions, thereby forging bonds of solidarity among all peoples of both hemispheres.
ANCIENT ARTS AND CRAFTS
El Buen Amigo preserves the arts and crafts of the Maya, the Inca, and other Indigenous communities that wish to maintain their traditional ways, artistic integrity, and vocational independence.
In Otavalo, there is a deep tradition of weaving dating back to pre-Inca times. During the time of the Inca, chosen women dedicated their lives to weaving fine textiles. Samples of the finest cloth were burned each day in an important ritual as an offering for the sun. Over many of years, indigenous weavers fine-tuned and developed increasingly sophisticated techniques and technology for their weaving. Today, textile production involves entire families, and weaving skills are taught to children at a very young age, sometimes even as early as three.
Most Otavalenos are involved with textile production at some level, whether it is by selling wool, cleaning wool, carding, spinning, dyeing, weaving, sewing, knitting, embroidering, or selling and marketing finished products. Only a small minority of people actually devote full time to textile industry. Many are leaving behind the traditional use of natural dyes and backstrap looms for more efficient and less time-consuming treadle looms. Creating one blanket on a backstrap loom can take a person up to 240 hours, and is slow, tedious work. The treadle loom is more efficient because it involves the use of both hands and feet.