Mochila Madness

We can’t seem to get our fill of tribal bags these days and for us, “tribal” never tires.  After seeing this Wayuu Mochila bag in the newest J.Crew catalogue, it reminded me of a photo I saw a few months ago on Vogue.com and that I was envious ever since.  Mochila bags are made by Wayuu Ameriindian tribeswomen, an indigenous people who live near the borders of both Colombia and Venezuela.  The process of making each bag is incredibly labor intensive–it takes over 40 hours to make each one!  The women of the Wayuu make the bags in an effort to earn a livelihood, and to improve and sustain their community. The bag at J.Crew has recently sold out so I scoured the internet and found these stunning colorful ones that will do just fine (and cost less!):

Mochila bags approx $120 from The Wayuu Taya Foundation, where all the sales proceeds go to benefiting the Wayuú indigenous people.

Mochila bags approx $70 from Columbian Style.

Leave a Comment

24 Comments

  1. lauren wrote:

    I want them all…kind of have a vintage guitar strap thing going on. I like

    6.10.10
    Reply
  2. scisi wrote:

    these are indeed amazing:)xxscisi

    6.10.10
    Reply
  3. tessa wrote:

    Barret had written about the jcrew one on her blog (girlobsessed.blogspot.com)… love those mochilas!

    6.14.10
    Reply
  4. Michelle wrote:

    I love these Mochila bags, I had a great experience shopping with Colombian Style.

    6.15.10
    Reply
  5. Barret wrote:

    I could kick myself for not ordering the J Crew one…and i can’t decide which color combo i like them most out of the ones you found. love the blog, check it daily for new good finds!

    6.15.10
    Reply
  6. tammy wrote:

    I love anything tribal also and I shop at J Crew and missed them. Good news is when I was in Vietnam several years ago I bought several similar to the ones on the top row. Found this great store where everything was made by indigenous people and the proceeds went back to the villagers and made you feel good about shopping.

    6.15.10
    Reply
  7. nicole wrote:

    If you like these bright bags be sure to check out http://tinyurl.com/3xuj392 for more bright tribal and bold color hue boho bags. Perfect against this seasons neutrals!

    7.12.10
    Reply
  8. isabel wrote:

    i live in colombia and have a bunch of bags i just purchased from a wayuu womens coop. i will be shipping from canada in a week. email me if you are interested and i will send you photos and prices izzie_ca@hotmail.com i have various colours & sizes

    7.14.10
    Reply
  9. Ahmed B. wrote:

    loooovely blog…

    For all the mochila lovers out there FaridasPassions.com (FP) in collaboration with Colombian Brands dedicated to supplying Authentic Mochilas Wayuu and Arhuaca would love to get your feedback on the new colletion that is NOW AVAILABLE!

    Of course you can buy them as well…

    Remember each Mochila is unique and nobody can have the one you have – unless the one you have is a replica…

    When you are viewing a MOCHILA on FP change the currency and select your location – the delivery will be added. What you will see is the only price you pay…

    We would like to Let the men out there know that these Tribal Crafts are here for them to enjoy as well….for the Men we recommend the Arhuacos Mochilas…however the first batch was sold out to women…

    ….apart from the Wayuu and Arhuacos very soon we will also be introdcuing the KANKUAMO MOCHILAS! Now the Kankuamo are another Colombian tribe…they produce shocking works of art…use the RSS feed on the FP website to be updated on when the KANKUAMO Mochilas will be available..

    Ciao
    Ahmed B.
    http://www.FaridasPassions.com (FP)

    8.25.10
    Reply
  10. Did you know this line is now selling at Barneys for $200+?!?!?! I couldn’t believe it when I saw them there today after reading about it on your blog months ago! That was the time to buy!

    1.7.11
    Reply
    • erica wrote:

      I saw that . . . crazy!!! Shopbop too!! You can actually buy them still at The Wayuu Taya Foundation. They raised the price a bit but not by much! xx

      1.7.11
  11. luis wrote:

    now theres this company call SuSu Co. made with Soul. they are imported the mochilas(bags) with the best prices , the same unique bags in $ 80 dls ………………..
    check out on facebook page SuSu co. Made with Soul. and coming soon http://www.susucompany.com

    good deal!

    11.17.11
    Reply
  12. ONEcraft wrote:

    look for ONEcraft! coming soon…

    11.21.11
    Reply
  13. Moe wrote:

    great bags. handmade/crafted is unique and awesome, mass production is so common and ordinary.

    1.20.12
    Reply
  14. David wrote:

    I recently went to Colombia and saw these, they are awesome!

    3.22.12
    Reply
  15. Paola wrote:

    http://www.cordobags.com has beautiful Wayuu Mochilas available also. Check out the cloth bag section.

    10.2.12
    Reply
  16. Fabian Perdomo wrote:

    If somebody is insterested in wayuu Mochilas,I’m selling different styles to cheap prize, only call me to this phone number, 617-838-4943, or send me one email to calancho86@hotmail.com.

    11.22.12
    Reply
  17. Sue wrote:

    I found this one by accident, looks great.

    4.18.13
    Reply
  18. Sue wrote:

    http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=230965807898

    I found this one by accident, it looks great.

    4.18.13
    Reply
  19. Nani wrote:

    If interested on wayuu Mochilas,I’m selling different styles at great prices, email me at nanires11@gmail.com or call me 407-666-3748. Will delivered from Orlando FL

    1.22.14
    Reply
  20. We are so glad the Wayuu Cultural invasion is taking over the Globe. This is a big help in supporting the Wayuu economically. We are competitive in practicing Fair Trade. http://www.wayuutribe.com

    8.8.15
    Reply
  21. Wayuu Made wrote:

    What a great post! We have recently started promoting Wayuu Bags on our new site in Colorado. We were very impressed with the Wayuu culture and the women that put all this time and effort into these beautiful bags. Feel free to check out our Wayuu Bags. Let us know what you think!

    11.22.16
    Reply
  22. Yosola Etnicy wrote:

    Our sustainable company is based in La Guajira the land of Wayuu. We sale at reasknae prices Wayuu hats and Mochila bags with high standar of quality… be

    we do control Quality and follow the production for us and for Italy brands.
    For info:+573007163754 Whatsap +393381642794

    9.23.17
    Reply
  23. arvindkumargoda wrote:

    Guadalupe Design – Get kaftan dresses, Wayuu hats, maxi dress, Guadalupe Design, OLIVIA DAR EARRINGS, Arboleda Wayuu Hat and much more. For More Accessories visits us

    3.12.18
    Reply