For more than 25 years, Alberto Avila has been making careteros, or paper maché masks, perpetuating a tradition of Indigenous communities in Ecuador. Typically worn by tribal leaders, the masks are used widely in local festivities. As Avila explains, each mask is intended to reflect “what’s inside” its creator—his first took the form of a devil, a character he identified with at the time, but he’s tranquil, nowadays, and has made more playful versions lately.
Avila welcomes travelers into his studio in Quito, where they, too, can make masks to take home. The result is more than a typical souvenir, he says. “It’s not just an object that you bought.” But in addition to receiving a personalized and authentic cultural experience, Avila’s guests are helping to preserve an endangered craft. “Indigenous communities have lost a lot since industrialization,” Avila says. “Handiwork skills are being lost, materials are being lost, and quality is deteriorating. Everything’s being replaced by plastic.”
Travelers provide a new demand for artisanal goods. Caretero-making with Avila is just one of a collection of hands-on activities bookable through Art Hotels Ecuador’s Art Experiences Travel program, which joins a wider effort to harness tourism to help keep cultural traditions alive. Artisans get paid for their time; guests get one-of-a-kind souvenirs; crafts are put in a spotlight. A number of organizations, such as the American Craft Council in the US and the Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) in the UK, believe these heritage art forms represent the soul of destinations. “We believe that this body of tacit knowledge, skills, and practices is as much a part of our culture as our monuments, building and museum collections,” says Daniel Carpenter, HCA’s executive director.
From Scotland to Japan, we look at five destinations tapping into travelers’ appetite for crafts with a sense of place—and inviting visitors to help preserve them.
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The Scottish Highlands
Since 2017, the HCA has published the biennial Red List of Endangered Crafts, which ranks traditional crafts by the likelihood that they will survive to the next generation. Among the dozens of British traditions listed as ‘critically endangered’ are wooden fishing net making, hand paper making, and sporran (pouch) making. Last year the The Fife Arms hotel in the Scottish Highlands selected three makers of those specialist crafts to sell their products in person and online; they also offer one-of-a-kind experiences to guests, such as the chance to design a custom dress sporran.
