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Journey of a Panama Hat
Panama hat production in Montecristi and Jipijapa
In the early 1600s, the Spanish conquistadors exploited forced native labour to produce Panama hats for profit, using european hat shapes to replace the traditional Ecuadorian bat wing style. The coastal villages of Jipijapa and Montecristi, where small-scale weaving took place, gave their names to the hats produced there. The name Montecristi is still associated with the Panama Hat, thanks to the skills of the weavers in producing the finest of hats.
In the late 18th century José Pavon and Hipolito Ruiz, botanists from the royal gardens in Madrid, named the plant which provided the straw Carludovicia Palamata after the King Carlos IV of Spain and his wife Ludovica.
In 1835 Manuel Alfaro, a Spanish entrepreneur, arrived in Montecristi and quickly realised the economic potential of the toquilla hat, setting up his own chain of production from the straw plantations to the weavers.
Panama hat production arrives in the Andes
At the same time the authorities in Cuenca, high up in the Andes, opened a hat factory and later a training workshop in an attempt to alleviate economic problems. The authorities made apprenticeship compulsory throughout the region with the threat of prison for those who refused. The industry in Cuenca developed quickly and utilised modern methods and organisation which led to it slowly outstripping the more traditional producers from the coast and the weaving of panama hats became one of the most lucrative economic activities in the region.
As the panama hat industry flourished in the Cuenca area, so many large companies were formed, along with middlemen who operated throughout the supply chain. These middlemen are known as ‘perros’ (dogs in Spanish) due to their unscrupulous purchasing methods and weavers typically receiving a very low price for their skills.
How Pachacuti works differently
Pachacuti is the UK’s only Fair Trade hat specialist, working directly with women's co-operatives in Ecuador. With a Pachacuti panama, the women carry out the entire production process from weaving to finishing and thus retain far more of the final value of the hat. Moreover, Pachacuti finances a pension scheme, training, capital expenditure, community development projects and health care such as eye exams and new glasses. An ongoing annual assessment programme tracks and records improvements in fair trade and environmental practice and sets goals for future improvements.
Carry Somers, proprietor of Pachacuti, carried out research which identified that the Panama hat industry could end within a few decades as young people chose to migrate to urban areas for work, rather than take up hat weaving and remain within their remote rural communities. As a result, a training scheme has been set up for young weavers which has brought new members to one hat-weaving association.
By ensuring just remuneration for current weavers, ensuring sustainability and training a new generation in weaving techniques, Pachacuti will ensure that the Panama hat continues to be a fashion icon into the next century.