Fique has been part of her daily life ever since she was a young girl. Her parents made fique sacks in which to transport goods—mainly food—, like so many other of Curití’s craftspeople did. Thus, it was only natural for her to become part of this tradition and learn to weave as it was done at home. That was her life until she and her husband, José, decided to open their own workshop in 2002. Since then, it has done nothing but prosper.

Although both spouses were expert weavers, they initially focused their work on selling dyed fique. Doña María Elvia would go to San Gil and purchase different dyes with which to venture into the world of color. Her first dying project involved a daring fuchsia. She kept experimenting, correcting the pale pinkish hue, improving her cooking formulas until she finally achieved the product she wanted to sell. Originally, she sold it in large cones of 400 grams. She then started offering smaller 50-gram cones so that customers would have more options and increase in number over time.

Everything she has accomplished has been a result of experience, of trial and error. This is how she learned to knit and braid, how she perfected her crocheting technique. She says she “struggled horribly” when she started to craft round rugs. This kept happening until she discovered that she could use a guiding mesh to make them perfectly. She follows her intuition, unweaves whatever she is working on as many times as she needs, and continues knowing that everything will eventually work out thanks to her knowledge and “God’s blessing.”

Today, her workshop stands out for its burl rugs, which her husband, José, makes. Nonetheless, it is known best for its 36-topknot rugs, whose shuttle passages can each have up to 36 fique threads woven into them: a skill that has not been valued enough by the market yet.

They work with four other weavers, in addition to José and their daughter, Francy. All of them operate the workshop’s five vertical looms. They also work with 35 women weavers—all of whom are heads of household—, who embroider, craft placemats, and manufacture handbags. Their products are sold not only in Santander but also in Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, and Cucunubá, Cundinamarca.