Guiomara Calle reports for La Razon:

Mangers of stone are the most required

A family of artisans working in the construction; that takes up to six days

Cribs covered with stones and bricks residues cause interest in the people who come to the Christmas fair, installed in the Bicentennial fairground field of the city of La Paz. Creativity is part of an “alteña” family [from El Alto city, which was part of La Paz city], who claims to have “good sale” with this invention.

“Details, sizes of the stones and the forms of cribs attract fairly. We’ve never seen it and we loved it, so we got one for the birth of our baby Jesus,”said Sonia Carrasco, visitor of the Christmas fair in La Paz.

So like her, many people were attracted by the brightness and details of cribs that are produced by the family of Naidel Lequepe, which for this Christmas started working four months ago, said the smallest daughter, Daimira Naidel, nine years.

“Before we were doing cribs only from straw, but my mom came with the idea to make them more resilient, then seek remains of bricks and stones.” My grandfather Porfirio cuts the pressboard and my parents, Jesus and Trinidad, and I stick with wood glue the stones one by one and then varnish it”, she said.

Work. The artisan Naidel Lequepe assured that it is a very tedious work, the making of small mangers takes between one and two days, the biggest take from five to six days. Costs vary according to the size of handicrafts; the smallest, which measure 20, 40, 80 centimeters, are sold from to Bs 30, 50 and 90, respectively. The largest, over a meter, cost between Bs 110 and Bs 330.

Naidel explained that she sees her parents perform different crafts since she was very little and was slowly learning the skills of her family, who comes from the city of El Alto to sell at the fair each year.

http://www.la-razon.com/sociedad/pesebres-piedra-requeridos_0_1741625943.html

I like to see innovative and relentless families like the Lequepes; self-esteem and entrepreneurial decision are commendable and should be imitated!!