Ways to live - A day with an Otavaleño

It is very important that you know that Otavaleños honor the pacha mama or nature, so their day-to-day activities are based on paying homage to it, one of the main places where they pay tribute is in the waterfalls, hundreds of them are located throughout Otavalo, and the waterfall is so masterful that they believe in the different mythical theories that are said about them. It is normal to start giving thanks to Mother Earth, taking a bath in these waterfalls, feeding on the fruit of the lakes and then going to the field, from where they collect fish that will be used for their food. Otavaleños always live off nature and the commerce it generates.

Normally, women are dedicated to the home, making textile garments such as ponchos and blankets, while men are dedicated to working the fields, and obtaining food from nature itself. Today´s technology has advanced, and they have adopted it for their good, so a struggle is generated between handcrafted with love and industrialized.

We must also indicate that Otavaleños are women and men forging the future, very disciplined and capable, innate hard-working people, so they always implement new techniques such as the famous slow fashion in their products, especially when they are textiles, guaranteeing that it is a fair trade and that the packaging maintains sustainability with the environment.

Once they do their job, the family circle is very important, so they protect their circle by always remaining close to those closest to them.