Yavinape is a Curripako surname—and an artisan surname. It represents the Tiger clan, and that is exactly how those who carry it feel. In fact, one of its heirs, Marta Yavinape, says that the Curripako are the weavers of Inírida, as if the craft were imprinted in their blood and hands. And perhaps it is, because generation after generation, the women of this community, who live along the banks of the Guainía River, have mastered weaving. The men, for their part, have been carvers—like the father of this family, don Antonio Yavinape, a master woodcarver of palosangre, or palobrasil as it is known along the border, the native land of this ethnic group.

At the foundation of this family story is Anita Garrido, the grandmother and matriarch. She was born in Brazil and, after becoming a widow, sought new horizons across other lands, eventually passing through Vaupés before settling in Guainía to raise her seven children. She relied on the support of a relative who offered her shelter and sustenance in Caño Bonito. Yet even with that support, she never stopped seeking her independence or teaching freedom to those around her. Her granddaughters speak only words of admiration for this strong woman, who shared her weaving wisdom with everyone. She lived to be 98, and along her long path, she scattered her teachings like seeds. Her heirs often recall one story that captures her spirit: one day, one of her sons told doña Anita that a clay jar she had made looked a bit “crooked.” She calmly replied that this same jar had given him the coffee he drank that morning—reminding him that every piece she made with her hands was exchanged for food for the family. She wanted him to learn to value and respect the work, to criticize less and create more. Ah, how many Anitas the world could use today…

The Yavinape women know that what they sell is not merely a craft, but the tradition of an entire people. Their determination is fixed on doing everything possible to ensure it does not disappear—to continue passing on the values of their Curripako identity, their origin myths, their rituals, their reverence for the food grown and harvested in their conuco, their language, which is essential for inheriting their world. Perhaps that is why, when they weave their chiquichiqui, they smile: because they remember their grandmother, because they think of the colors she taught them to work with, because they recall the fibers she showed them how to gather and prepare. They smile and they bless, peaceful as these brothers and sisters are, who define themselves as Evangelicals.

Learning, for them, has also meant caring for their raw materials. They see how increasingly difficult it is to gather chiquichiqui, partly because of the frequent flooding of their territory, which disrupts the harvest cycle of the palm and forces them to search further away. For this reason, they are working to consolidate green enterprises that protect the environment while ensuring a sustainable supply of the raw materials their families depend on.

This is how the Yavinape women move and think. The women of the family—cousins and aunts, and also their mother Rosa—work alongside them, weaving and weaving, so they may continue walking and imagining. For like true tigers, resistance is their companion, and it helps them walk forward with steady steps.