TRANSMIT OR SUCCUMMING: EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF THE TOQUILLA STRAW HAT
Abstract
The weaving of the Ecuadorian straw hat was inscribed in 2012 in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO, it is intimately linked to the history of Ecuador. The southern region concentrates approximately 90% of the national production, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Spain are the main destinations of the hat, tourists who visit Cuenca are also interested in this garment that currently It has become a product that contributes to the economy of rural families. The study focuses on the characteristics of small-scale straw hat production in relation to the cost of maintaining tradition and the relationships between cultural and economic dynamics. The approach used was of qualitative type of exploratory scope, through ten semi-structured interviews to weavers of the rural parish of San Martín de Puzhío, belonging to the canton Chordeleg, province of Azuay, in addition an interview was made to a representative of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Subsequently, the information of the interviews was entered into the software Atlas ti, version 7. It is necessary to guarantee the transmission of knowledge, the loss of knowledge of the tissue implies a substantial loss for all the actors. It is necessary to break the value chain and tourism can be an answer to ensure equity in development.
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© Investur, 2017
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