Bright ornament girl carries holiday music in her arms. Yellow and red girl with green treble clef is Ecuadoran folk art made of bread dough. Decorative only. Keep out of reach of children. 

Bread dough folk art in Ecuador has its origins in Roman Catholic and Indian traditions. For the Day of the Dead in early November, families honor deceased relatives by placing simple bread dough figurines by their grave sites. In some regions, figures are also made for the Procession of the Christ Child, a Christmas festival, and Godparents Day before Lent.

Bread dough, paint, string, 4Lx2W inches.

Donated by a friend of Access Tucson Community Media.

Artisan Group: Maquita (MCCH)

Country: Ecuador

MCCH (Maquita Chuchunchic Comercializando Como Hermanos), meaning “Let us join hands and do business as brothers”in Quechua and Spanish languages, is an Ecuadorian cooperative marketing NGO that works with craft groups scattered around the country, helping them with production, design and marketing.

MCCH (Maquita Chuchunchic Comercializando Como Hermanos), meaning “Let us join hands and do business as brothers” in Quechua and Spanish languages, is an Ecuadorian cooperative marketing NGO. MCCH works with craft groups scattered around the country, helping them with production, design and marketing. For many artisans, craft income supplements meager agricultural earnings. In addition to handicraft sales, MCCH works with farm collectives exporting fair trade cocoa, with ecotourism and with women’s cooperatives.

MCCH was begun in 1985 by a group of church communities in response to rising poverty and inflation in Ecuador. MCCH is a member of the International Fair Trade Association.

Ten Thousand Villages purchases bread dough nativities and Christmas ornaments, maracas, jewelry and textiles from MCCH.  Ten Thousand Villages has purchased products from MCCH since 1995.