Do you know how they suggested the crafts?

Nowadays, and for decades now, we have been using artisanal products and services, moving away from the masses of industrialization and toward human labor, handcrafted by experts who put their love into the production of different products. With many of the products we consume daily made by artisans, it is important for us to understand this beautiful history of Latin American peoples.

Handicrafts are an indigenous Latin American profession that began among the Aztec, Inca, and Chibcha Indians, whose traditions included basketry, weaving, pottery, goldsmithing, stonework, and woodworking. According to myths and legends, these handcrafted objects were made by the gods and served no economic purpose.

During the conquest, artisanal traditions were modified and improved, and new tools began to be used, which became indispensable and were also provided by nature. Goldsmithing was one of the traditions affected by the arrival of the settlers. Their greed for gold and wealth led them to take the gold without processing it.

Later, in Colombia, "Obrajes" (workshops) were established, urban workshops where Spaniards taught indigenous people about jewelry, painting, sculpture, and other crafts. The crafts began to be marketed, ushering in a capitalist economy where a new role emerged: the middleman, who bought the products and resold them.

This is how handicrafts became a very important economic mechanism for Colombia and Latin America, giving rise to the economy we know today and becoming important products that we continue to consume to this day.

Supporting artisans means supporting our roots and the industry that strives daily in a manual and creative process. That's why we want to commemorate Artisan Day, celebrated this March.

Source: repositorio.artesaniasdecolombia.com.co