Our granddaughter Jordan has come for a visit. We have enjoyed a wonderful time with her and have been exploring the nearby areas. One day ,Felix, who is our landlord,guide and friend took us all to a factory making the "Panama Hat" run by his uncle. Mr Avila was a wonderful host and very willingly,gave us the grand tour. He started by showing us a video depicting the raw material, a special palm like plant,grown and harvested in an area called Montechristi . There the stalks are cut,made into thin strips, dried and woven into the basic hat.This raw hat is then shipped to Mr Avila
to create the famous Panama Hat. There are many factories, however Mr Avila is known worldwide for his quality and ships all over the world.
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The hats arrive the Avila Hat Factory like this
The hats are placed in a warm chlorine bath for three days to bleach as well as kill any resident insects
Then dried
Now he forms the hats into the various shapes and sizes. The are many molds to accomplish this
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The hat is shaped around the selected mold
Pressed in a hot press for 10-15 seconds
Comes out like this
Producing 400 to 450 hats per day.
Next comes the labeling
and the black band
Here the labels and band are attached.Each country has its own " Made in ?? " label
His hats are shipped all over the world.
Right now there is a controversial program instituted by the Ecuadorian President to change the name to "Ecuadorian Hat" and use the" Made in Ecuador" label only.
We all tried on a selection of his hats
The hat on the right becomes the hat on the left after pressing and trimming
We then discovered that this famous " Mexican Hat" is actually made in Ecuador
At the end of the tour Mr Avila showed us that some of his hats are so finely woven that they can be rolled up, placed in a hand made wooden box, shipped anywhere and when unrolled will resume its original shape.
We all enjoyed the tour. It was fascinating. Mr Avila wanted his picture taken with Jordan
AND then the best surprise of all, he presented us ALL with a free hat of our choice
So now you know the true story. All Panama hats are made in Ecuador.
They are hand made from start to finish.The finest quality will sell for over $3000
