Collection: INTI

INTI is the sun god of the Incas. In 1993, the founders of INTI, Leon and Anna Cales, set off on an adventurous backpacking trip to South America. It was love at first sight.

INTI develops items that are handcrafted with respect for nature, cultures, and people. Stitch by stitch and loop by loop, each knitted piece is lovingly crafted from high-quality materials on two needles by local knitters in their own homes.
For the woven products, the wool is still hand-woven in the traditional way, preserving its characteristic texture. Weaving is a labor-intensive process: INTI's weaving takes place in Fabian and Elsa's weaving mill in Ecuador. Fabian warps and weaves various colors on the loom. When the weaving is finished, he combs the scarf with a large carder. This creates an amazing effect: the color mix is always a surprise.

The materials and garments are made from the highest quality baby alpaca wool from Peru and Ecuador. Each knitter keeps a small amount of this exclusive wool for their own use. The rest is carefully weighed and processed into INTI items. The idea behind it: to create beautiful things and to do so with appreciation and joy.

The alpaca is a camelid native to South America. Not to be confused with its relative, the llama. The dainty alpaca has straighter, smaller ears and has been bred and domesticated for no less than 6000 years for its luxurious single-layer coat, its fiber fit for kings. Similar to fine merino wool (sheep's wool), alpaca wool is warmer, less prickly, contains no lanolin (making it hypoallergenic), and is naturally water and fire resistant. The wool comes from small herds kept in species-appropriate conditions and is mulesing-free.

Social responsibility: Anna still spends about half the year in Otavalo in northern Ecuador to support production and the team of around 700 knitters. In addition, she is closely involved in every step of the production process, from the design phase to the dyeing and knitting of the wool and the distribution of the products. The other half she spends in Europe, visiting shops, events, trade fairs, and other companies.

The women INTI cooperates with live in rather small villages. Their husbands often work in the cities and are away during the week; the children are at school. Working on INTI items gives these women their own source of income. They can freely plan their workload according to their needs, availability, and wishes. This leads to some very lively communities of women who exchange instructions, experiences, and techniques, check things, and work together. Some of them have been knitting for INTI for over twenty years.

All INTI items are handmade in Ecuador from natural yarns and are part of a limited production. All irregularities should be considered part of the uniqueness. We hope you appreciate them as much as INTI appreciates them during production.