Toquilla Straw Hat (Panama Hat), Ecuador

A master weaver in Ecuador bends over a hat in progress, with finished bodies drying behind him. The so-called Panama hat has always been Ecuadorian: it is woven by hand from the split fibers of the toquilla palm, chiefly around Montecristi and Cuenca, and took its misleading name from the trade routes that shipped it through Panama. The finest pieces can take months to weave. UNESCO listed the traditional weaving of the toquilla straw hat as intangible cultural heritage in 2012.