Maria Woven Market Bag | Natural Fiber Strap


$60.00
DESCRIPTION

The Vegan Maria Market Bag is crocheted using plant fibers and colored with natural dyes. Its two over-the-shoulder woven straps, which you can tie up at your preferred length, make it the perfect reusable bag for groceries, a beach trip, or anything on-the-go. Simple, understated, and trustworthy, the Maria is the bag to hang by the front door to grab at a moment’s notice.

STYLE NOTES

  • Made using cabuya, a native plant fiber
  • Woven Plant Fiber Strap
  • Size when empty: ~18" x 10"
  • Strap length: 24"
  • Stretches and expands
  • Strong enough to hold your fruits and veggies

MATERIALS + PROCESS

Minga bags are handmade by a women’s artisan group living in the cloudforest of Intag, Ecuador. These women use an ancient crafting technique to create products from cabuya, a native agave fiber. Each Minga bag takes days of careful concentration and hard work to create. 

After harvesting, preparing and dying the cabuya, the women hand spin the thread and work from one of a kind designs to crochet each bag. Artisans have been using cabuya for thousands of years, but with the introduction of plastics, its need has slowly decreased. Our artisan partners represent some of the last communities still using this age-old method. 

Our bags are all one-of-a-kind. This means that no two are exactly alike and almost all contain irregularities from size to styles to color. Please allow for slight imperfections as this is what adds to the unique character of each bag. Due to the leather's natural finish each hide will keep its distinctive features, such as veins and pores. Please allow the leather time to naturally wear and soften over time.

Learn more about the bag making process here or join us on a trip to learn yourself.

Slowly Crafted with Plants & Natural Fibers

We use natural fibers and plant dyes to craft our woven bags. Our artisan partners work with the penca, a cousin to the agave plant, to access its fiber and create thread for our bags.

After cutting and stringing the leaves, a deep cleaning and drying, the fiber is ready to be brushed and spun into thread. Next we plant-dye with local barks and leaves native to Ecuador and finally crochet.

Leather Straps that Get Better with Time

We use only the finest leather finishings and straps, applying them one by one. We work with a family-run studio that works with high quality vegetable-tanned leather so each strap will naturally wear and soften the more you use it.

Celebrate Traditional Craftsmanship

The ancient art of using agave fiber to weave products has been passed down from generation to generation. Our artisan partners represent some of the last groups in Ecuador practicing this beautiful craft.