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Quito

Camari

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Why it matters: founded in 1981 by the FEPP as Ecuador’s pioneering fair-trade retailer, Camari markets crafts and food from roughly 15,000 small-producer families across 18 provinces, paying them fair prices directly. Its Santa Clara store is a one-stop shop for genuinely traceable Ecuadorian goods – Andean textiles, hand-carved bowls, panela, chocolate and single-origin coffee. Buy your coffee and souvenirs here instead of the tourist stalls and the money actually reaches rural producers. Local tip: it doubles as an organic grocery, so grab local honey, quinoa or dried fruit for the road.

Tianguez

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Why it matters: run since the mid-1990s by the Sinchi Sacha Foundation, Tianguez is a certified World Fair Trade Organization member whose cafe and craft-shop earnings generate income for low-income Ecuadorian artisans and Amazonian producers. It sits right on Plaza San Francisco, pairing traditional highland, coast and Amazon dishes with a craft store whose long corridors feel almost like a museum. Order a fair-trade coffee or a tropical fruit juice on the patio and watch the plaza go by. Local tip: come on a Wednesday-to-Sunday evening when live Latin American music plays – one of the few reasons to be in the Old Town after dark.

Mercado Central Quito

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This is one of the most visited markets of the city since 1950. The ladies who sell all kind of products such as fruits, vegetables, poultry, meat and prepared meals are locally…

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