In her modest home in Guangopolo, east of Ecuador’s capital, Ligia Ipiales carefully separates strands from a horse’s tail, weaving a mesh as fine as gauze for a “cedazo,” a traditional sieve clinging to survival.
The craft that once made the village famous is now fading. Only nine “cedacero” artisans remain. The youngest is 51-year-old Guido Paucar, the only man in the group, while the oldest is Ipiales, at 76.
