Panamabob
Call Me a Cab
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- 2,012
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On an unnumbered page in the Geographica section of National Geographic's November 2005 edition is a one page article about Montecristi Panama Hats. It is a decent article and I'd like to quote a few lines:
"Weaving's pay is low but its physical demands are high: artisand hunch over for hours over wooden blocks..."
"In the past little profit from hat sales trickled back to Montecristi. But that's changing. Brent Black, a Hawaii based hat dealer, started a nonprofit group to help weavers' villages. He plans to pay master weavers commissions based on what each Panama sells for--and his hat prices often top five thousand dollars."
""I'm hoping more will stay with the art or be drawn to it." Black says."
"Perhaps the brightest prospect...Simon Espinal. Spinning neat, snug rows as fine as 50 to an inch, Espinal turns out only six or so hats a year."
MY COMMENTS:
After nearly 2 decades of selling hats (that are in my opinion incredibly high priced) it is nice to see a sudden urge to help the people out. I'm sorry it seems that only the best and brightest will be helped out since there are only a handful of weavers who can produce a hat of the caliber of a master weaver.
I think selling more hats will draw people to want to work.
The mentioned weaver told my brother-in-law Wilson Espinales (011-59-35-275-8890) that he could not sell any hats to us because he had an exclusive contract with one Hawaiian company and he was committed to giving them hats first. When offered $500.00 he said that it was more than he was contracted and that he would think about it.
Simon Espinal lives in what we would typify as a shack and when we showed him emails stating that he lived in among the nicest houses in Montecristi he scoffed.
6 hats X $400 a year is even lower than the avg. worker in Ecuador. It will be great when Espinal and the others get their fair share of the huge profits gained off of their backs.
Please don't compare this to shoe companies, clothing companies, etc. These are artists handcrafting items, not people working in sweatshops.
With the advent of the internet they can see their exploitation first hand. Unfortunately weaving is their livelihood so they can't turn a sale down.
Some people say shame on the Delgados, Pachays, Francos, and Meros who serve as the middlemen. I've got news for you, they don't make 1000s of percentages profit. Shame on the man who takes a $40.00 hat and sells it for $450.00.
I'll say it before and I'll say it again. There isn't a hat in Montecristi that costs more than $600.00. Let's go on down and I'll show you where to get it. You pay my way and you'll still spend a lot less than $5,000, let alone $20K or $30K.
And to those that have bought from us...Thank you!
"Weaving's pay is low but its physical demands are high: artisand hunch over for hours over wooden blocks..."
"In the past little profit from hat sales trickled back to Montecristi. But that's changing. Brent Black, a Hawaii based hat dealer, started a nonprofit group to help weavers' villages. He plans to pay master weavers commissions based on what each Panama sells for--and his hat prices often top five thousand dollars."
""I'm hoping more will stay with the art or be drawn to it." Black says."
"Perhaps the brightest prospect...Simon Espinal. Spinning neat, snug rows as fine as 50 to an inch, Espinal turns out only six or so hats a year."
MY COMMENTS:
After nearly 2 decades of selling hats (that are in my opinion incredibly high priced) it is nice to see a sudden urge to help the people out. I'm sorry it seems that only the best and brightest will be helped out since there are only a handful of weavers who can produce a hat of the caliber of a master weaver.
I think selling more hats will draw people to want to work.
The mentioned weaver told my brother-in-law Wilson Espinales (011-59-35-275-8890) that he could not sell any hats to us because he had an exclusive contract with one Hawaiian company and he was committed to giving them hats first. When offered $500.00 he said that it was more than he was contracted and that he would think about it.
Simon Espinal lives in what we would typify as a shack and when we showed him emails stating that he lived in among the nicest houses in Montecristi he scoffed.
6 hats X $400 a year is even lower than the avg. worker in Ecuador. It will be great when Espinal and the others get their fair share of the huge profits gained off of their backs.
Please don't compare this to shoe companies, clothing companies, etc. These are artists handcrafting items, not people working in sweatshops.
With the advent of the internet they can see their exploitation first hand. Unfortunately weaving is their livelihood so they can't turn a sale down.
Some people say shame on the Delgados, Pachays, Francos, and Meros who serve as the middlemen. I've got news for you, they don't make 1000s of percentages profit. Shame on the man who takes a $40.00 hat and sells it for $450.00.
I'll say it before and I'll say it again. There isn't a hat in Montecristi that costs more than $600.00. Let's go on down and I'll show you where to get it. You pay my way and you'll still spend a lot less than $5,000, let alone $20K or $30K.
And to those that have bought from us...Thank you!
