Colibris Women´s Artisan Cooperative
Marianitas, Ecuador
The Colibris are a group of women living in the village of Marianitas, in the Chocó cloud forest bioregion of northwestern Ecuador. The Colibris produce sustainable arts and crafts from renewable natural materials like bamboo, coconut husks and tagua (vegetable ivory). The mission of the women is to provide a sustainable future for themselves, their families and their community, while protecting the incredibly rich diversity of their natural resources.
The Colibris crafts include earrings, pendants and seed/bead necklaces, as well as napkin rings, key chains and other articles.
The group has also begun a program of receiving ecotourists and volunteers, who enjoy homestays with local families while helping with crafts and other community & conservation projects. For more about these projects, see Volunteering. Or click Ecotourism to see a video on milking a cow, and learn more about birding, hiking and other eco-adventures in the cloud forest.
Spanish as second language classes are also offered, for those who would like to improve their ability in this language.
Write the Colibris at info@colibrisecuador.org, for more information about the Colibris and their homestay and volunteer programs, or to find out how to buy their natural bead necklaces, earrings and other hand-made, natural crafts.
Welcome to the Colibris - ¨Hummingbirds¨
. It´s hard to even express in words how those women have touched us and how great it was to work with them and learn more about them -
Naomi & Tara, Volunteers from Montreal, Canada
