OUR STORY
Sumak Arts started with a young couple who left their community in the early 90s following the Mindalae tradition - in the Kichwa community being a Mindalae means sharing our culture through our arts, crafts, music and creativity, this tradition has been past down from many generations and we are proud to carry this tradition forward.
Virginia and Alonso, along with their three daughters, have travelled throughout Canada, building Sumak Arts by participating in more than 30 festivals a year, including world famous events including SunFest, Halifax International Buskers Festival, Burlington Sound of Music and many more.
We have been providing our customers with quality products while also sharing about our culture through our own voices, sharing the stories behind each product we sell. From the photography, to the way that products are made and marketed create an impact in our communities.
As our products are made by indigenous families in Otavalo and the surrounding communities, we take pride in going beyond the model of “fair trade”.
We centre the families that we work with, they are our friends, family and compadres who we maintain in our ayllu or close family system in ways that go beyond business, we are mutually invested in each other’s growth.
Because of the currently global situation we will not be participating in any events during the summer but will be providing our customers with our products and new products through our online store.
Thank you for visiting us, leave us a message, say hello!
Let's move forward together.