María Stella Cabrera, a iraca weaver from Sandoná, remembers her school days being somewhat different from those of her classmates. They used to live in front of the school, and during recess time she and her siblings would go home to have a coffee. Her mother took advantage of the break, dampened the hat straw, and asked them to weave a leap before the bell rang and they returned to class. She recalls that as children, they complained about having to weave instead of playing with their classmates, but now she understands her mother’s method for teaching them the craft that would accompany them throughout their lives. They are nothing more and nothing less than the children of Maestra Dolores Erazo, a craftswoman who dedicated her life to teaching the technique in Sandoná and its surrounding areas.

Just like María Stella and her five siblings, the women of Sandoná became heirs to Maestra Dolores’s knowledge, who shared numerous techniques without asking for anything in return. Her motivation was to offer her students an option for economic solvency, which is so important to deal with the many faces of sexism. Her neighbors would come to her workshop, and then teach the technique to their daughters, and their daughters to their daughters. That’s why many of her apprentices now have their own workshops or associations, and she proudly wears the Medal of Artisan Mastery, a well-deserved recognition awarded to her in 2023.

María Stella speaks humorously about a problem her family faces. It turns out that for weaving the hats, each craftswoman has her own stone, which she will not hesitate to use to grind chili peppers for lunch when needed, and then wash it, cover it with a cloth, and continue weaving. These ancient and special stones have been passed down from generation to generation. The problem is that her mother had 6 children but inherited only one stone. Without a doubt, everyone would like to inherit this well-used and blackened stone, imbued with all the work and love of Maestra Dolores.

And if this is a craft running through the family’s veins, María Stella, following her mother’s teachings, welcomes others to work together. Her house is constantly bustling, filled with the ladies who visit her to learn. They cook together, open the straw, and dry and dye the material they will take home to weave. When there are new designs, they gather to align themselves in the production of fine hats, extra-fine hats, thick hats, baskets, and bags. Like the older sister she is, she has continued to guide her siblings on the path of craftsmanship. She speaks of them with the tenderness of someone who doesn’t want them to depend on her and who knows what they are capable of. She constantly motivates them to be independent, to plan their own meetings, and to go to fairs on their own. Her brother Ignacio, for example, founded the Rural Agricultural Artisan Association of Sandoná in 2015, through which they support artisans in the production and sale of their traditional weavings.