The Otavalo trade diaspora: social capital and transnational entrepreneurship

Abstract

This article examines the role of historical social resources in the development of a transnational trade diaspora of Ecuador's indigenous Otavalan merchants. The Otavalans are well known for their production of handicrafts, using pre-industrial and industrial technologies, and for their far-flung trips in search of foreign buyers. In this account, the role of 'social capital', typically defined as a 'public good', is highlighted to better gauge its usefulness to other migrant and indigenous groups. I conclude that the Otavalo case suggests that in-group 'social capital' is: (a) not sufficient or necessary for 'grass-roots' transnational entrepreneurship; (b) the political origins of an ethnic group's 'trust-worthiness' reveal a more diverse set of symbolic and cultural 'capitals', which may then be used by an emergent merchant class to gain financial capital for a business venture; and (c) 'globalization' notwithstanding, contemporary trade diasporas may rise and fall due to similar causal dynamics found among much older and ubiquitous 'cross-cultural trade diasporas'.