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For every artisan-made bag she sells on the tree-bordered promenade of Riohacha, Sandra Aguilar believes that she's sharing an element of her heritage

Once used only by this indigenous community, the most numerous native community in this nation, the bags - known as traditional bags - have become a staple across Colombia, and favored by foreign tourists

In present times the bags are likewise expanding in distribution through international shops, featured at style shows around the world, and marketed via services including online marketplaces and social media - reaching buyers that might not have set foot in this nation

"Due to internet publications, overseas guests are becoming quite informed about the mochila," Ms Aguilar says. "They recognise and value its ancestral value"

Ancestral Practice and Commercial Aspect

Textile work has historically been fundamental for the Wayuu people, which total nearly four hundred thousand within the country

They have inhabited for hundreds of years throughout the arid coastal region of the northeastern zone in the northeast of Colombia, and reach into neighbouring Venezuela

Skills are handed down from generation to generation, featuring geometric designs throughout various carriers reflecting family heritage, cultural faith, and the natural world

Textile work is likewise a vital source of income within this region, the country's second neediest region, where the majority of residents reside in financial hardship

For the artisan, both domestic carrier revenue and exports have enhanced circumstances throughout her native settlement of 11 families, and permitted her younger relatives to pursue higher education

Global Demand together with Community Obstacles

However although the growing global demand has improved opportunities for certain individuals, it has also brought challenges

Various weavers face exploitation, and worries exist that traditional craftsmanship are being compromised for speed and financial profit

Various native artisans - assisted by socially-conscious entrepreneurs - are working to access more equitable international trade and promote the bag's heritage significance

Costs of indigenous bags vary considerably

• A standard lower quality carrier - produced through basic patterns and weaving techniques - can be found across Colombia for around $20 - occasionally cheaper
• Higher-end purses usually open at around $80 and may increase to several hundred pounds, depending on the crafting period, complexity of the design

Historically, carriers were produced over weeks, yet growing market prompted various craftswomen to establish speedier approaches, making elementary motifs within several days

Entrepreneurial Initiatives combined with Commercial Realities

For Colombian entrepreneur one business founder, compliments on the Wayuu bag she was using while traveling overseas generated an entrepreneurial vision

She founded carrier enterprise Chila Bags several years ago

"Social media was beginning, and the enterprise started growing," she says

The businesswoman comments she emphasizes high-quality bags including heritage designs and components

These purses reflect the weavers' talents, time, and tradition, for which they receive a fair wage, she comments

The company has been featured in publications, including global style publications, and showcased at worldwide design exhibitions and high-end retail spaces throughout various global cities

Dual Markets and Commercial Circumstances

But does she think the flourishing popularity of the bags has proven advantageous for the native population?

For Ms Chica, that very much depends on which market you look at

"There are brands, and those interested in the story behind the creation method, that seek to persistently offer it internationally," she says

She continues that these provide a market for customers who appreciate indigenous arts, ecological awareness and fair trade, and accept increased costs

But not all weavers have succeeded in connecting with methods to collaborate with these businesses that provide appropriate payment, states the entrepreneur

Rather she comments that many have to rely on an alternative system where quick production, commerce and revenue are focused on, which undermines compensation and the standard of the work

Marketplace Realities

Within the city's New Market - a complex trading area filled with colourful stalls providing fiber, chinchorros and traditional carriers - a group of women works on the hard surface, weaving

They describe how intermediaries, or agents, might provide them merely $5.50 per bag, yet after covering materials and transportation, they often earn merely one dollar fifty - excluding the time spent weaving

Many such Wayuu weavers hail from remote, separated villages where solely the native tongue - {the Wayuu language|the