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For every handcrafted bag she offers on the palm-lined coastal walkway of this Caribbean city, a local craftswoman believes that she's presenting a piece of her cultural legacy

Historically employed solely by the Wayuu, the biggest native community in Colombia, these carriers - referred to as woven carriers - have become a fundamental item throughout the country, and popular with overseas travelers

In present times these items are additionally expanding in distribution in global boutiques, presented in design exhibitions around the world, and marketed via services including digital retail and social platforms - reaching buyers that potentially haven't set foot in the country

"Due to digital content, overseas guests are becoming quite informed about the mochila," the artisan comments. "They identify and appreciate its ancestral value"

Cultural Heritage and Commercial Aspect

Fiber artistry has historically been essential to this indigenous community, who number approximately 380,000 in Colombia

They have resided through generations across the arid coastal region of La Guajira throughout the northeastern area nationally, and spread into bordering Venezuela

Methods are transmitted across generations, featuring geometric designs on many mochilas representing community affiliation, religious belief, and environmental elements

Textile work is likewise an essential means of revenue throughout the territory, the nation's second most impoverished area, where the majority of inhabitants reside in financial hardship

For Ms Aguilar, both domestic bag sales and overseas trade have bettered situations throughout her native settlement including multiple families, and permitted her younger relatives to attend university

International Interest and Community Obstacles

However although the expanding international market has enhanced prospects for particular artisans, it has additionally generated difficulties

Many artisans experience taking advantage, and there are concerns that traditional craftsmanship are being undermined for speed and financial profit

Certain indigenous craftswomen - supported by ethically-minded businesspeople - are working to access better overseas opportunities and support the mochila's cultural value

Costs of indigenous bags range widely

• A standard simpler bag - created using basic patterns and crafting approaches - can be found across Colombia costing about 20 USD - occasionally cheaper
• Higher-end bags usually open at around $80 and may increase to multiple hundred dollars, depending on the production duration, complexity of the design

Traditionally, carriers were produced during multiple weeks, however increasing interest led many weavers to create quicker methods, creating basic patterns within several days

Entrepreneurial Initiatives and Economic Factors

For Colombian entrepreneur Laura Chica, admiration of the traditional purse she was carrying while traveling overseas sparked a business idea

She established carrier enterprise her brand back in 2013

"Instagram was just starting, and the brand began to take off," she states

Ms Chica states she concentrates on superior carriers incorporating traditional patterns and aspects

These purses demonstrate the artisans' skills, work, and culture, for which they obtain a fair wage, she states

The enterprise has appeared in periodicals, including global style publications, and displayed in worldwide design exhibitions and high-end retail spaces from Hawaii to London, Paris and Shanghai

Two Systems combined with Economic Realities

But does she think the flourishing popularity of the carriers has proven advantageous for the Wayuu?

For Ms Chica, that very much depends on which economic system you consider

"Various enterprises, and those interested in the story behind how the bag is made, that seek to persistently offer it internationally," she states

She continues that these offer a clientele for purchasers who respect native craftsmanship, ecological awareness and fair trade, and will pay higher prices

Yet not each craftswoman have managed to reach ways to work with such enterprises that offer fair compensation, states the entrepreneur

Instead she says that numerous must depend on an alternative system where rapid manufacturing, commerce and revenue are focused on, that weakens earnings and the excellence of the craftsmanship

Marketplace Realities

Within the city's New Market - a maze-like market filled with bright kiosks providing fiber, heritage hanging beds and woven bags - numerous artisans sits on the hard surface, weaving

They describe how go-betweens, or brokers, may offer them as little as 5.50 USD each, yet after covering thread and transport, they frequently make as little as 1.50 USD - excluding the time spent weaving

Many such Wayuu weavers come from remote, separated villages where only Wayuunaiki - {the Wayuu language|the