10/16/2026
Every product we select for our shop is intentional, which is why we are proud to carry Los Andes blankets handcrafted in Ecuador.
Owners Benoit Berho grew up in Southern Chile, home of the fierce Mapuche people who were never conquered by the Spaniards. His wife, Debbie was raised in Oregon. Before she was born, her father raised sheep on a Central Oregon ranch, sheared them himself, and sold the wool to Pendleton Woolen Mills. Her fascination with Latin America and Spanish began at an early age and led to her studying abroad in Costa Rica, where she met Benoit.
Two of Benoit’s brothers married Ecuadorian women, so they traveled to Ecuador to visit them. While there, they visited Otavalo, a town high in the Andes, famous for its colorful “Plaza de ponchos.” They became friends with several Otavalans and soon started importing the beautiful alpaca and woolen items created in this town and neighboring Peguche.
Debbie shares a history lesson about the significance behind the work, "The Spaniards forced many native Ecuadorians to work in “obrajes”, a colonial version of a textile sweatshop. The fabric they produced was used by Spaniards all over their empire for hundreds of years. After Independence from Spain, the Ecuadorian people took advantage of their skills for their own benefit, gradually gaining ground. Some of the older crafters remember earning only 1 sucre per day for 8 or more hours of weaving or sewing – that was 1/15th of 1 US dollar in 1950! They now own the means of production – design software, sewing machines, looms, buildings, and trucks for transport – and provide employment for many community members. That is why when you acquire one of their products, you are certain that you are ensuring the livelihood of the creators."
Image credit: Los Andes Shop
