Ecuador

Ecuador is located in the northwest region of South America. Two ranges of the Andes Mountains divide the land into three natural regions: humid lowlands on the Pacific coast, temperate highlands between the ranges, and a tropical rain forest to the east. Indians and Mestizos (a mixture of native and Spanish ancestors) comprise 80 percent of Ecuador's people; the balance of the population is divided equally between people of European descent and those of African descent. The Quechua people inhabit the highlands and grow subsistence crops. And, although Spanish is Ecuador's official language, 40 percent of the country's population speaks Quechua.

More than half of the citizens live along the coast where they grow cash crops of bananas, coffee and rice. With the discovery of petroleum in the eastern Amazon region, crude oil quickly became the country's chief export. Government initiatives to lower inflation, boost employment and reschedule the country's foreign debt have had little effect on most of the nation's rural poor.

Several development agencies work with Ecuadorian craft groups scattered around the country, assisting them with the production, design and marketing of crafts. These agencies enable artisans to work in their local communities (instead of leaving to find scarce work in the cities), and a way to earn stable income through crafts that reflect their indigenous culture. Artisans produce a wide variety of craft items, including embroidered tapestries.

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