All began in 1998. Fascinated by a film of Klaus Goldinger, "The hatters of Montecristi", we decide to travel to Ecuador.

Inspired by the cinematographic impact, we wanted to learn more about the land of the legendary Montecristi Seda hat on the coast of Manabí, its people and their antique weaving techniques.

At that time, El Niño had destroyed roads and bridges. There were no street signs. It was impossible to locate the villages we had seen in the film!

Thanks to Frederico Koelle, an Ecuadorian who loves and knows his country like no one else and who is actively engaged for international organizations in environmental protection, we finally were able to find the places we had been looking for.

The scene we found was shocking: children with severe ocular damage, mutilations and many more, a poor nutritional situation, no medical care, no school education.

Here and there we discover a weaver who makes hats of standard quality. No trace of a Montecristi Seda, a very fine woven hat, as supple and soft as silk. Our persisting questions, where and by whom these hats are woven, always receive the same answer - there are no more Sedas.

In Ecuador, people tend to be reserved towards strangers: In the following 2 years, we needed further trips, patience and time to learn more about the decline of the art of weaving.

Together with a poor remuneration of the hatworks, the main problems included supply of the raw material, lost technical know-how as well as the art of weaving itself. All knowledge on how to weave a Seda will soon be lost and forgotten forever, an old master weaver explains.

This was the starting point of our work, the count down to save a traditional art handicraft, on the verge of extinction had begun. Our man in Ecuador, Frederico Koelle introduced first structural measures, followed by demographic data, an overview on health needs, analysis of the work situation, social system and the agricultural conditions of soil. Furthermore, we learn that weaving has a very bad image. Young men consider it as a "beggar's job" and prefer to work, far from their families, in fish factories.

Our first concrete step towards changing this situation was a drastic improvement of remuneration. In the many conversations we led, people always pointed out that weaving represents an art handicraft. It was critical to us to stimulate the few remaining" masters of the art" to lay their know-how in the hands of the young generation.

Many trials of this first year failed. Low-quality straw, incorrect preparation procedures, coupled with a lack of experience in rest-times of the weaves between the single steps of the working process led to the breaking of perfect-looking hats while being shaped. But little by little, our key claim "to strive for quality" could be realized thanks to the strong dedication and commitment of some few weavers.

Straw, the raw material was the next problem. At a distance of many hours from the villages, straw is harvested in one place and processed in another. Intermediaries transport it to the villages where it is sold. In other words, the weaver has very little possibilities to buy straw directly. It was crucial to end this dependence. Togther with our Ecuadorian foundation Cerro Verde, the recycling center, Werkhof Darmstadt (Germany) and in cooperation with the European Union we set up a reforestation program of the toquilla palm in the surroundings of the villages. The weavers now dispose of a nearby raw material production

Further forms of dependence are found in the supply of the moulds (head-shaped wooden blocks, over which the weaver works his hats) as well as in the finishing of the hat. This difficult technique, called "remate", the final cleaning and the hat-blocking are exclusively in the hands of the middlemen.

Over these factors, the dealers had the power to solely stipulate the price, having the weavers finally loose all interest in continuing to make time-consuming and work-intensive high quality products.

No long-term success could be guaranteed without the involvement of the entire village. In assemblies held with the population and the community administrations, we were able to slowly gain the confidence of the people for our projects.

We arranged for a continuos medical care program, including regular visits of specialists, we support schools by contributions in books, toys and drawing material, we offer weaving workshops also for women. The quality of life has improved substantially.

Our efforts were largely rewarded in January 2001, in the" Night of the Sombrero Montecristi", a gathering of all Ecuadorians participating in this project or intending to do so. Once again, emphasis was placed on the traditional importance of the art of weaving for Ecuador. Consequently, this trade has regained its former reputation as an art handicraft and is paid for accordingly. A Montecristi Seda stands for Ecuador like a quality watch for Switzerland. Only 50 years ago, these hats added prestige to the High Society.

The tradition of weaving goes back to the ancient Valdavia culture (4000 a. C.) and chronicles tell us about the Conquistadores of the 16th century who wore hats from Manabí and Guayi, mistaking them for vampire skins, so fine they were.

The massive reaction of the press and the public confirmed that our idea had moved the hearts of the Ecuadorian people. But without the enthusiasm of our local team, who often work under not foreseeable conditions, no success would have been possible.

By the end of this year we expect 15 Sedas which will be available to the buying public.

In Germany and in Switzerland we found friends who altruistically support our work:

Mr. Franz Breiter of Hut-Breiter, traditional hatter in Munich gives us advice in all questions of designing as well as for all technical and aesthetical aspects. His decision to re-establish a long-lost market by exhibiting the finos-finos in his premium shop on Kaufinger Strasse, has largely contributed to the success of our project.