Introduction

The Inga are indigenous people who have lived for centuries primarily in the Amazon basin of Colombia and Ecuador (the members of this study are from the department of Putumayo, Colombia). They are part of the larger group of Indigenous peoples known as the Quechua family, and their language is also called Inga or Inga Quechua. 

They make beautiful and functional items that echo their profound connection to nature. In recent years, they have become known for their intricate and colorful beadwork. This community has honed its craft for generations, creating art that carries the soul of its culture and the stories and teachings of its ancestors. But as the world around them changes, the Inga artisans' perspective on the handicrafts industry is evolving, presenting both challenges and opportunities for their craft and livelihoods.

We wanted to hear the perspective of the Inga artisans with whom we have been working for the past four years to create our beaded jewelry and some instruments. Here is the questionnaire we sent them to understand how the handicraft industry impacts their community and lives. These are the answers we got from our main contact, Mayerly, who gathered with other community members to talk about these questions and answered these using the community input.

Questionnaire

1)     Why is the handicraft activity important for you and your community?

The importance of handicrafts for us, the indigenous Inga families (women and men) is to transmit ancestral knowledge, our beliefs, dreams, spiritual knowledge, and customs to our new generations who are the children. We weave and work on crafts, capturing our Inga worldview.

Through weaving, we revere all the nature and living beings that surround us (the moon, the sun, the rain, medicinal plants, ornamental, wood, forage, food, herbs, remedies, and all animals in our territory). We also capture the 4 elements of Mother Earth "Alpa Mama" (air, water, earth, and fire). Additionally, through crafts, we capture the visions of dreams and visions that the sacred medicine of Yajé gives us. Through these ancestral practices we transmit our knowledge and customs to the new generation so that we continue to be strengthened and not let us abandon this earthly world and prevent the Inga people from becoming extinct. Lastly, this activity has become an important part of our economy.

2)     How do you feel when you see customers admire your handicrafts?

It is very important to us that those who buy our products admire and appreciate the work done, as it requires a lot of dedication and they are often made by single mothers, children, young people, young women, and grandparents who can’t work on any other activity. Each woven piece has a meaning and creates employment and brings in economic funds to our community. We are proud of our work and talent and appreciate when it is valued.

3)     What changes have you seen in the handicraft industry?

At first, we carried out weaving, handicrafts, and ancestral craft practices to decorate our clothing, homes, and huts. Over time, we developed ways of exchanging and trading "makikuarii" for our handicrafts with the people in our area. This allowed us to make a good living by cooperating with our neighbour communities. We used to exchange handicrafts for days of work in our fields or gardens, and also for other different handicrafts, for food, and so on. During the Spanish invasion in the years 1800-1940, we were looted and robbed by the Spaniards; at that time our people were working with gold, emeralds, clay, bones, leather, and fine wood. When the Spanish arrived, they traded those valuable jewels and materials for mirrors, sweets, combs, bags, into other things they brought from Europe. After the invasion, and thanks to everything that has happened to us, we learned that these handcrafted products could be priced with the peso $. This is what has helped us somewhat today because life is very different, and the trading is not enough to fulfill our needs in this modern world. The sale of our products, (although not at a good price), is helping us with our daily food, our children's education, new clothing as we are also losing our traditional costumes as we don’t use them every day as before, into other economic benefits that the sale of our crafts brings to our community.

4)     What do you enjoy most about your vocation?

When we make crafts, we enjoy spending time with our children to teach them how to see the world and how to enjoy and care for it. This is a space for learning and teaching. We talk with grandparents and listen to their stories while creating our crafts. We do these crafts during our free time when we're not working in the fields or doing other chores around the house or in the fields, which allows us to have the flexibility to work while fulfilling our duties.

5)     How do you see the future of the handicraft industry?

Lately, seeing many things outside our territory, we have dreamed of the initiative of working in an association in which our mothers, fathers, children, young people, and grandparents can start weaving in large quantities. We hope to secure clients either from our country or foreigners so we can get financial support to acquire or build a space "tambu" where we could meet and make different crafts together, taking into account that the space is adequate, because at the moment we work from our little houses.

6)     What message would you like to give to people considering purchasing one of your products?

The message we want to give to people who would like to purchase our products is that the universe blesses and rewards them for this beautiful gesture of support. Their purchase helps us, Inga artisans to continue to strengthen our own ancestral knowledge and practices and to meet some of our daily needs and to educate our children.

7)  What are some challenges/obstacles with your artisanal work?

With the handicrafts that we make, we face many challenges, including:

1. The natural materials with which we make many of our products are increasingly scarce in our territory due to the population growth and that we have invaded more mountains to live and work the fields.

2. Western materials such as beads, threads, needles, fabrics, and other materials we used to make our crafts can be expensive to get and their prices often change, making the quoting of our work also difficult.

3. In Colombia we have many other indigenous peoples who also practice these crafts, so we produce a large quantity of artisanal products, which causes the cost to fall due to high competition. 

4. We live in an ancestral territory where access is very difficult and there is not infrastructure in place to ease transportation. People hardly visit us, and leaving from here to another place is also challenging, making it difficult to run any errands out of our territory such as promoting our crafts somewhere else, purchasing of materials and going to ship out our orders.

These are the main ones I can think of among many more.

“Pay. Valentina kamba ianapaimanda nukapa alpata y nukapa aillikunata, nukapa purakunata, ahcka kusikuspa mi kanchi kamanda ruraspa hilpuikuna”

Thank you so much, Valentina. Your support and purchase of our products have been a great help to my family and our women. We are happy to be able to knit for you. Best regards.

Conclusion

The Inga people's handicrafts are not just artistic expressions—they are deeply embedded in their identity and relationship with the natural world. Each piece tells a story, whether it is of a family, a harvest, or a spirit of the forest. Their crafts are deeply spiritual, filled with ancient symbols and practices passed down through generations.

For the Inga, making these crafts is not just about producing an object; it is about preserving their worldview and culture and passing it on to new generations to protect their culture maintenance. It is possible to conclude that the handicrafts industry, with its emphasis on cultural heritage and authenticity, offers Inga artisans a potential means of economic independence and protects their culture continuation.

Our Inga artisans expressed their dream to build a facility where they could scale their production and become a more sustainable and consistent economic activity for the community. We hope that our support contributes to the fulfilment of their dream and that they can have the space they want to create their handicrafts. For now, I invite you to check out the beautiful beaded jewelry these artisans make as well as our ceremonial instruments, which they also make by hand. 

✨ Explore their handcrafted pieces today!

Thinking about having a special beaded piece or a ceremonial instrument? At IndiArts Collective, we have a wide selection. Under our fair trade system, we guarantee that every artisan is fully respected and getting what they deserve for their work. Check out our Inga products! 

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