Nestled in the remote mountains of Northern Ecuador is the Intag Valley; one of the world's most important biological hotspots.
This cloud rainforest, for many years, has been struggling with deforestation and the pollution of its water resources brought about by the mining and timber companies that would destroy it for economic gain.
The 17,000 people who inhabit this diverse and important biological reserve need to base their incomes on sustainable activities that protect the forest in which they live. Many communities have created communitarian companies for handcrafts and ecological agriculture. One such company is the corporation Talleres de Grand Valle, whose members produce many wonderful handcrafts from Loofah; a renewable and sustainable resource that is helping to stem the tide against commercial interests. The artisans shape the loofah into unique slippers, purses and cosmetic bags, ornamental flowers, and body care products.
