A Mother’s Love and A Seamstress’ Needle

By Abigail Pittman

Maria Elizabeth Alava-Mendoza, or “Ely,” is 36 and a seamstress and clothing designer living in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Alava has lived on San Cristóbal Island since she was 9 years old. She remembers when the roads were sand instead of asphalt and there were no cars.

Alava’s three children guide her work and day-to-day life. She once studied to be a teacher, but found that the profession caused her to be away from them too often. “My children are a treasure,” said Alava.

“It’s for them that I live,” she added.

When Alava began making clothes for women and girls, she worked out of her living room. That space grew too small to accommodate both family life and Alava’s sewing work, and she moved to a side apartment. In December 2021, Alava purchased and had a shipping container outfitted to be her new workshop. She works there almost every day, making clothing to support her family—her husband, German Puente, 69, is retired and works on part time projects. The space connects Alava’s work and her family together tangibly—the door to her family’s home is only steps from the sliding door to her workshop.

Close up of a sewing machine. Alava’s hand guides the edge of a pair of pants under the needle to stitch in her label, which reads “Confecciones Ely.”

Maria Elizabeth Alava-Mendoza, or "Ely," sews her label into a pair of pants, the finishing touch on all of her garments. Alava is a seamstress and clothing designer living and working in San Cristóbal in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Alava, at work, is reflected in the mirror that rests in one corner of her workshop. To the right of the mirror is a finished, light blue dress with white stripes pinned to a mannequin, and to the left are small white bags of clothing waiting for customer pickup. Alava is wearing a red dress with red polka dots.

Alava measures out a design in her workshop, a shipping container that sits only steps away from her family and their home. "My life is my job and my family," said Alava. She works in the workshop every day and breaks for lunch with her three children and her husband, Germán. Of her work, she said, “it's not only a job. It's an art. It's taking a simple rag and making magic."

Alava fits a female customer with the light blue dress as the woman looks on. Alava is wearing a blue shirt. Both are reflected in the mirror that rest in one corner of the workshop. A pair of finished, flower patterned pants are pinned to the mannequin to the left of Alava and the customer.

Alava fits Tanya Lopez-Vaya with a finished dress. Lopez is one of Alava's customers--she estimates that 500 people come to her for new clothing or clothing modification, including people from neighboring islands Floreana and Isabela. Although Alava is not the only clothing designer in the islands, she said, "It's not competition. We are different. We are friends. They come to look for fabrics or information about something, or if I don't have material I can ask maybe if they have them, but they are not competition."

Having her workplace be so close to home isn’t a concern for Alava. “It’s much easier because I don’t have to pay for transportation or grab a taxi or leave my home or leave my children,” she said. “It’s better if I want to go to clean or go to cook or see something.”

“Everyone knows me here,” she added. “They know where I live, and they know where I work.”

Here, Alava stands at the door to her home as her husband Germán looks on.

Alava stands at the door to her home, left, while her husband stands by his motorcycle. Taken from a high perspective, Alava’s white home, dotted with black volcanic rock, sits next to a silver metal shipping container, right. The shipping container has holes cut out for a window and door, and the door is open to show Alava’s worktable.

Having her workplace be so close to home isn't a concern for Alava. "It's much easier because I don't have to pay for transportation or grab a taxi or leave my home or leave my children," she said. "It's better if I want to go to clean or go to cook or see something." "Everyone knows me here," she added. "They know where I live, and they know where I work."

Alava, right, works her hands through daughter Amaya’s hair (left). Both are inside Alava’s home; there are red curtains in the background and a spiral staircase to Alava’s right. Amaya is sitting and sipping tea from a spoon. She wears a white shirt. Alava is wearing a red, patterned shirt and is standing.

Amaya is Alava's youngest daughter and is 8 years old. Amaya spends the most time with her mother, including time in her workshop. "[Amaya] wants to do everything," Alava said.

Germán, Alava’s husband (left), and her daughter, Laura, smile at each other as they sit at the family’s kitchen table for lunch. In the foreground, there is a cup of juice and an orange container. Germán is wearing a black tank top, and Laura is wearing a black shirt. Behind them, the white walls, dotted with black volcanic rock, can be seen. A drawing of a boat hangs above Germán and Laura on the wall.

Alava's other daughter, Laura, is 16 and not as interested in Alava's work. Alava said, "My children say, 'she spends a lot of time here,' sometimes, but they prefer that I be close and not somewhere else where I don't see them or just for lunch." Here, Laura (right) laughs at something that was said during lunch as Germán looks on.

Alava, left, and her son Nicholas hold hands at the family kitchen table. A close up image, Alava’s arm has a red sleeve with red polka dots, and a plate with food is to her left. At right is a cup with juice in it and a bag of ketchup.

Alava's oldest son, Nicholas, 18, holds her hand at lunch. When he leaves for college in mainland Ecuador in summer 2022, he won't have family with him. "It's hard for me that he's leaving," Alava said, "but I can't say that it's been wasted time because we've been close." "It hasn't been wasted time with my family, and it isn't wasted time on my job," Alava said.

Working so close to home allows Alava the freedom to move between the spaces, especially if it’s hot outside—the metal container amplifies the Galápagos heat. She uses the time out of her shop to clean or spend time with her children, while Germán cooks lunch and runs errands for Alava during the day.

Alava mops her blue, tile kitchen floor as rain falls in the background. Alava is framed by a doorway that leads outside. To the right of the image is the kitchen fridge, which is silver, and to the left is a countertop.

Working so close to home allows Alava the freedom to move between the spaces, especially if it's hot outside—the metal container amplifies the Galápagos heat. She uses the time out of her shop to clean or spend time with her children, while Germán cooks lunch and runs errands for Alava during the day.

Spools of thread in many different colors sit upright on a wooden shelf in Alava’s workshop. These threads are used for sewing various items.

Of course, everything in Alavá shop comes from the mainland. That includes fabrics and threads and all her other supplies. "In the beginning," Alava said, "my husband said that this was a hobby.." That, she said, was because "he didn't see how much money this brings me. Now, I tell him, 'please, I need thread,' and he runs." She laughed at that—Alava in large part supports the family financially because of her work.

Alava child Amaya hugs her

Alava's children Amaya, left, and Nicholas spend a moment with her. "I love being a mother," Alava said. "I believe it's an inheritance.." Alava said her mother "was very sacrificial for us." Alava is one of seven children. "She taught me the job--that a woman should work all the time for what she wants," Alava added. "And my children are a treasure...it's for them that I live."

Amaya sits inside a box in Alava's shop while she works on a design.

"You have to have an objective in life," Alava said. "I believe I fulfill my objective. I want to be an exemplary mother, a good wife, and good for society--and I am useful for society," she said. "I don't want gold or silver--that is wealth. I only want to be useful and to teach others to be useful in their lives." Here, Amaya sits inside a box in Alava's shop while she works on a design.

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