(Should your question be one of the infrequently asked variety, you can always contact us.)


"Caipocha" isn't actually a word. Though it does resemble a number of indigenous names found throughout the Imbabura province of Ecuador (such as Laguna Cuicocha), "Caipocha" is simply a combination of the first syllables of our last names.


Cristo has a fairly large shop in downtown Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and completes all his work there. Sandra and Roberto, however, aren't very good at staying in the same place. The work they offer on this site was made in Ecuador and Colombia, with materials from those two countries as well as components they picked up during their travels in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Brazil.


A lot of people have profited from our work, often far more than we do. By selling directly on our own website, we're getting rid of middlemen, taking control and no longer earning less than 50% of the retail price of our products. In addition, we find it very rewarding to form relationships with the people who buy and enjoy our work.


Take a look at our shipping page to learn about prices, wait times, insurance, etc.




You can pay with PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or using your bank account. The shopping cart page is with PayPal and they process all payments, but you do not need a PayPal account to check out!


Because it's all done through PayPal, even if you don't have an account with them. If you're not familiar with PayPal, click here for a nifty overview of their service. We ourselves never see your financial information; the balance owed is simply transferred to our account. Your information is locked up with PayPal itself and never exposed.

What is alpaca? Isn't it silver?

Many producers and merchants claim that alpaca is "Peruvian Silver," "a type of silver," etc., but that's simply not true. Alpaca is a commonly used alloy of zinc and copper, with iron and nickel thrown by some jewelers. It looks a lot like silver, but is actually totally unrelated. It's versatile like stainless steel and does not tarnish, and is therefore used quite a bit. We use it in metal pipes and the decorative parts of our three metals earrings, but always use real silver for earwires, the parts that actually come into contact with your skin.

What's so wonderful about tagua?

Tagua is great for a number of reasons: it's all natural; it can be harvested without causing any environmental harm; it's a strong, beautiful, versatile material; and it is nearly always associated with community projects. Tagua is actually a small coconut, although when you see it on a tree it grows in bunches, almost like oversized grapes. When it's ripe it can be eaten by humans and is eaten by monkeys in the wild; after a while, the coconut milk inside hardens and becomes "vegetable ivory." It can be used for a vast array of crafts and takes well to dyes, burning, and even frying! And of course, it's far more eco-friendly than other common materials such as plastic. Lastly, tagua is now planted by a number of communities along the Ecuadorian coast who see it as an alternative to ecologically-evil bananas and oil palm trees. We artisans who buy tagua are supporting hard-working people in small towns who use the money that they earn to set up workshops and send their kids to school. But perhaps the best thing about tagua is that it's so cool: How many people do you know who have a necklace made of dried coconut milk?