The Textile Secret of Sabaneta: Workshops That Still Weave

Introduction to Sabaneta's Textile Past

If you walk through the streets of Sabaneta today, the first things you see are shopping malls, new housing complexes, and a bike path that looks like it's from a postcard. But if you veer off a couple of blocks towards the eastern side, near the old road to Olaya Herrera Airport, the noise of cars mixes with a sound few recognize: the rhythmic tapping of a manual loom. That sound, coming from workshops hidden behind brick facades, is the heartbeat of a Sabaneta that refuses to die.

Between 1950 and 1990, Sabaneta was the forgotten epicenter of the textile industry in the Aburrá Valley. While Medellín took the spotlight with its large factories like Fabricato and Coltejer, here, in this small municipality, entire families wove in their homes to supply those same companies. Today, with the arrival of mass industrialization and fast fashion, most of those workshops have closed. But a few remain, resisting like loose threads in an old embroidery. This article is a map to find them.

What to Do: The Map of 3 Active Family Workshops

Don't expect big signs or stores with impeccable display windows. These workshops operate in family homes, where the smell of cotton thread and wool dust are part of the landscape. Here are three that are still active as of July 2026, verified by locals who still buy there.

Taller de Don Álvaro (Carrera 43 # 45-12, Barrio La Aurora)

Don Álvaro is 67 years old and started weaving at age 12, when his father taught him on a wooden loom that today sits in his living room. His workshop has no website or social media. It operates Monday to Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., although he himself says, "if they knock on the door, I open." Here he specializes in ruanas and wool blankets, with a process that takes up to three days per piece. Prices range from $80,000 COP for a scarf to $350,000 COP for a large ruana. What makes him unique: Don Álvaro keeps a notebook with designs his grandfather drew in the 1940s, and he can replicate them if you bring him the sketch.

Tejidos La Esperanza (Calle 50 # 38-22, Barrio El Carmen)

This is a family workshop run by three sisters: María, Lucía, and Claudia. It opened in 1985 and never closed, not even during the textile crisis of the 2000s. They work with small industrial looms, but the entire design and finishing process is manual. They focus on tablecloths, napkins, and table runners with traditional Antioquian embroidery. They serve by appointment only, because sometimes they are busy with orders for craft fairs. You can contact them by asking at the corner store (Café El Encuentro, half a block away). Prices: tablecloths from $120,000 COP, individual napkins from $15,000 COP. A detail: they accept barter for supplies like threads or natural dyes.

Telares El Abuelo (Vía El Tambo, kilometer 2, no fixed number)

This is the most hidden of all. It is in a rural area, a 15-minute drive from Sabaneta's main square. It is run by Doña Rosa, 74, and her son Carlos. Here they weave with alpaca wool brought from a farm in eastern Antioquia. What they sell are shawls, ponchos, and hats with natural dyes (onion skin, walnut, eucalyptus). There are no fixed prices: everything is negotiated based on the size and complexity of the design. Doña Rosa says, "whoever comes with respect, leaves with good treatment." To get there, ask for the "pink house with a loom painted on the facade."

Interview with a Master Weaver: Don Álvaro

I sat down with Don Álvaro one Saturday morning, while he adjusted the threads on a loom that seemed older than him. I asked him why he still weaves in a world where everything is bought online.

"Look," he said, wiping his sweat with a checkered handkerchief, "people think this is just about making fabric. But every thread I put here is a story. My father taught me that the loom doesn't lie: if you tighten too much, it breaks; if you loosen, it comes undone. It's like life. And now young people come with their designs on their cell phones, and I tell them: bring them to me on paper, because the loom doesn't understand screens."

Don Álvaro receives about 10 visitors a month, mostly design students from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana or foreigners looking for "something authentic." He charges $50,000 COP for a one-hour session where he teaches the basics of the loom. "I don't get rich, but whoever learns takes away something no one can take from them," he says. His greatest pride: a ruana he made for a musician from the Medellín Philharmonic, who wore it at a concert at the Teatro Metropolitano.

Contrast with the Industrialization of the Aburrá Valley

To understand why these workshops are special, you have to look at what happened around them. In Itagüí, just a 10-minute bus ride away, textile factories like Textiles Ospinas and C.I. Jeanswear produce millions of garments a year with machines that never stop. In Medellín, neighborhoods like La Candelaria and El Poblado are full of fast-fashion stores selling mass-produced t-shirts for $20,000 COP. That is efficient, but also homogeneous.

In Sabaneta, on the other hand, time is measured differently. A manual loom produces, on average, one meter of fabric per hour. A ruana by Don Álvaro takes 18 hours of work. A tablecloth from Tejidos La Esperanza can take a week. That doesn't compete with industry, but it offers something it cannot: uniqueness. Each piece has imperfections that make it unique, like a thicker thread or a slightly different color. For a young designer looking for a base for their collection, that is gold.

Furthermore, these workshops are a living archive of techniques that are disappearing. For example, the "shuttle weaving," where a wooden piece is used to pass the thread from one side to the other, is something only a dozen people know how to do in the entire Aburrá Valley. Don Álvaro is one of them. If it is not documented and passed on, in 10 years no one will remember how it's done.

Where to Eat or Drink Nearby

After visiting the workshops, hunger strikes. Sabaneta has options that complement the artisanal plan.

La Casa de las Empanadas (Carrera 42 # 47-10)

Three blocks from Don Álvaro's workshop. They sell beef, chicken, and mixed empanadas from $3,500 COP each. The dough is crispy and the homemade hot sauce is spicy but not burning. Open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., every day.

Helados La 50 (Calle 50 # 39-08)

A small shop that has been making artisanal ice cream from tropical fruits for 30 years. Try the soursop or lulo flavor, at $6,000 COP per cone. Near Tejidos La Esperanza. Open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except Sundays.

Restaurante El Tambo (Vía El Tambo, kilometer 3)

If you go to Telares El Abuelo, this restaurant is on the way. Specializing in bandeja paisa and chicken sancocho. Dishes range from $25,000 to $45,000 COP. Open only on weekends, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The owner, Don Pedro, is a friend of Doña Rosa and can give you more precise directions to get to the workshop.

How to Get There and Transportation

Sabaneta is 20 minutes by metro from downtown Medellín. Get off at the Sabaneta station (line A). From there, the workshops are scattered:

• Taller de Don Álvaro: Walk 10 minutes east along Carrera 43, or take a "La Aurora" bus that leaves every 15 minutes from the station. The fare is $2,800 COP.
• Tejidos La Esperanza: From the station, walk 15 minutes north along Calle 50. You can also take a taxi (approximately $7,000 COP).
• Telares El Abuelo: You need a car. You can rent a taxi by the hour (about $30,000 COP) or use the local transport app (InDriver, with fares from $15,000 COP). Ask to be taken to the "pink house with a painted loom" on Vía El Tambo.

If you are coming from José María Córdova Airport, take a bus to downtown Medellín and get off at San Antonio station, then transfer to the metro towards Sabaneta. The total trip is approximately one hour.

Local Tips

• Visit on Saturdays before noon. That's when the workshops are quieter and the master weavers have time to chat. After 2:00 p.m., many close or focus on orders.
• Bring your own design. Don Álvaro and Doña Rosa accept sketches on paper (not digital). If you have an idea, bring it hand-drawn. They will tell you if it's feasible on the loom. Negotiate the price directly: a custom piece costs between 20% and 30% more than a standard one, but it's worth it.
• Pay in cash. Most of these workshops don't have a card machine or accept transfers. Bring bills of $20,000 and $50,000 COP. At Tejidos La Esperanza they sometimes accept Nequi, but it's not guaranteed.
• Don't expect luxury. These are family workshops, not boutique stores. The bathroom might be shared, or the house dog might bark at you. That's part of the experience.
• Ask about natural dyes. If you are interested in sustainable fashion, Doña Rosa explains how she dyes with peels and leaves. It's knowledge that almost no one shares anymore.

List of Unique Products Only Found Here

• Ruanas with 1940s designs: Only Don Álvaro has his grandfather's original patterns. You won't find them in any store in Medellín.
• Tablecloths with Antioquian "cross-stitch" embroidery: The sisters at Tejidos La Esperanza use a stitch they learned from their mother, who in turn learned it from a nun in the 1960s. Each tablecloth has a different detail.
• Alpaca ponchos dyed with walnut: Doña Rosa uses green walnuts to achieve a dark brown that doesn't fade. It's a color you can't get with synthetic dyes.
• Raw sheep wool scarves: Don Álvaro doesn't wash the wool with chemicals, only with water and neutral soap. The result is a rough but warm texture, ideal for Medellín's climate.
• Napkins with hand-embroidered initials: At Tejidos La Esperanza, if you order a week in advance, they embroider your family's initials. They cost $25,000 COP each.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an appointment to visit the workshops?

For Tejidos La Esperanza, yes, because the sisters are sometimes busy with orders. You can ask at Café El Encuentro (Carrera 42 # 47-12) or call the phone number they have posted on the door. For Don Álvaro and Doña Rosa, you can arrive without notice, but it's better to do it in the morning, between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., when they are most available.

Can I buy products online?

None of these workshops have an online store. Don Álvaro says, "the internet is for young people, not for my looms." If you can't go in person, you can ask a friend in Medellín to bring them to you, or contact through the social media of the Sabaneta Mayor's Office, which sometimes promotes these workshops at fairs. But the best thing is to go yourself: the experience of seeing how it's woven is part of the product.

How much does a custom piece cost?

It depends on the size and complexity. A simple scarf can cost $80,000 COP, but if you bring a design with multiple colors or patterns, it can go up to $200,000 COP. Don Álvaro negotiates if you buy more than three pieces. Doña Rosa accepts barter for non-perishable food or colored threads. Prices are as of July 2026, so check before you go.

Are there workshops that offer weaving classes?

Yes, Don Álvaro offers one-hour sessions for $50,000 COP, where he teaches the basics of the manual loom. You don't need experience, but you do need patience. Doña Rosa doesn't give formal classes, but if you help her with the loom while you chat, she teaches you tricks. It's more of an informal learning experience than a structured course.

Are these workshops open on Sundays?

Generally # Sundays are rest days for the families. Don Álvaro sometimes opens if he has an urgent order, but it's not reliable. The best thing is to go from Monday to Saturday, before 4:00 p.m. If you arrive on a Sunday, you can take the opportunity to eat at El Tambo or walk through Sabaneta's main square, which has a craft fair on weekends.