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Our Handicrafts
Ecuadorian Artisans
Jan
Crafts are considered to be any product made through the execution of activities generally carried out in small workshops with a low social division of labor and with a predominance of human, physical and mental energy, complemented by relatively simple tools and machines.
Ecuadorian artisans have not disappeared due to manufacturing expansion, on the contrary, their number has grown and artisan production is preserved in many branches of the economy, especially in: those that produce goods for popular consumption, in Ecuador there are around 120 thousand artisan workshops that bring together approximately 480,000 artisans directly
Characteristics of Ecuadorian artisans
1. The craftsman is, at the same time, a direct producer and owner of the means of production.
2. In contrast to the wage worker, the independent craftsman controls the process. He works and appropriates its results, that is, the small producer decides on the type, quantity and quality of the product that he produces and is the owner of the result of his work.
3.Unlike the industrial producer, the artisan has few means of production and very few workers, be they unpaid family members or salaried workers (apprentices and operators).
4. In the artisan production process, the labor factor prevails over the capital factor, and manual labor over mechanical production.
5. Within the craft workshop, the master craftsman participates directly and actively in the physical production process and spends little time on administrative and marketing tasks.
6.A diferencia del producto industrial, la calidad y cantidad del producto artesanal dependen, sobre todo, de la ingeniosidad y perseverancia del artesano y sus ayudantes.
Hoy en día, no cabe duda de que tanto en la economía nacional cuanto en el sector manufacturero ecuatoriano, domina la producción capitalista sobre las demás formas de producción.
Y esta expansión ha desplazado a muchos artesanos, pero el gobierno ecuatoriano ha implantado políticas y beneficios que promueven y enaltecen a los artesanos ecuatorianos.
El Mipro ofrece asistencia técnica en etiquetado y embalaje de productos. A esto se suma el trabajo de la Subsecretaría de Mipymes y Artesanías que coordina labores con las asociaciones artesanales a escala nacional y apunta a internacionalizar los productos.
Además se han generado beneficios como el RUA (Registro Único Artesanal), plataforma informática en la cual se pueden registrar y obtener ventajas.
Además se mantienen vigentes los beneficios de la Ley de Fomento Artesanal como la extensión del seguro social artesanal que ampara no solo al artesano sino a los miembros de la familia que se dediquen a esta actividad.
Importance of Ecuadorian artisans
The care that Ecuador has given to its cultural manifestations, including crafts, has allowed the preservation of its roots, hallmarks and craft techniques that feed and strengthen the sense of belonging of citizens with their nation.
The importance of artisans not only lies in the ancestral knowledge that they preserve, since they also have a great economic impact in this country, since in 2017 the activity represented 18.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the cultural sector.
