Ecofibras is the largest workshop in Curití. It has 12 looms operating in 1,700 meters of space, and 27 employees who weave more than 300 square meters of rugs per month. It can manufacture natural fiber fabrics and dye them in 54 distinct hues. They export 70 percent of their products, established a fique museum that showcases fique’s history as well as the region’s, and have a collection of agaves. However, for José Delio Porras, this vastness is in appearance only. This is so because, in his own words, “We are a cooperative with prospects and the desire to grow.”

In 1994, he contributed $100,000 pesos and a great deal of work for this company’s establishment. It was born and grew in the municipal farmers’ center until it moved to its own headquarters in 2008. José Delio speaks with a certain authority that can only come from having earned his place as a craftsman in the national fique meetings held by the Ministry of Agriculture, which seek to create strategies to boost the fique chain of production and organize its various links.

He knows numbers and production figures well, but he also knows that what they do in Curití is an example of absolute endurance against markets and consumption practices completely seduced by plastic. For this reason, he is committed to the innovation and quality offered by natural fibers like fique and cotton. Tradition is in his blood and fique is his natural landscape. It has provided food for his family and this town, nestled in the Cordillera Oriental (Eastern Mountain Range).

For him, it is essential to keep in mind where the knowledge of the Guanentá province comes from. This is why there is a museum inside the factory: it tells the story of fique’s journey and provides a historical outlook on the knowledge of its weavers. It is their way of showing how, for decades, this region has worshipped the stalk that gives meaning to their lives. This is their legacy.