Putumayo and Narino have three traditional vocations associated with Pasto Varnish or mopa-mopa. In Putumayo, carpenters, lathe operators, and carvers process the wood, while in Narino, carvers process the wooden items and decorate them with a varnish made from the resin obtained from the mopa-mopa tree.
The practice involves harvesting the buds of the mopa-mopa where it’s necessary to know the forest trails and climb trees. Pickers extract the varnish in the first few weeks following sprouting, the raw material is a skin-colored leaf crystal that becomes a dough when heated. To clean the newborn leaves of impurities and ribs, the product is immersed in boiling water, kneaded, and beaten with an anvil and a flowerpot. This operation is repeated, and a mill is then used to grind the product until it can be used at home.
Historiographers point to its origin as Inca, but it existed when the Spaniards arrived in the territory of the current Narino department and in particular among the indigenous Pastos. In the southern city of San Juan de Pasto in Colombia, the ancient technique called Barniz de Pasto, is used to decorate wooden objects with wood resin obtained from the mopa-mopa bush.
The knowledge of harvesting the mopa-mopa is mostly passed on orally, observed, and practiced in the family circle. The techniques associated with mopa-mopa harvesting, wood processing, and varnish decoration are a source of identity for the communities concerned and Pasto Varnish has allowed practitioners to be self-employed, linked by guilds, and family-owned trade structures.
In recent years, organizations such as the University of Narino and Artesanias de Colombia have intervened to preserve the technique and to create a development based on design and decorative application. As with all ancestral artisan techniques, its secrets have been passed down from father to son, and the designs and colors reflect the current fashion.
As of now, however, there are just ten harvesters, nine wood masters, and 36 varnish masters. Development and globalization processes have created more profitable alternatives for young people, and scarcity of resources, such as mopa-mopa and wood, is a factor contributing to climate change and deforestation. The practice is also threatened by difficulties accessing the harvesting sites and substandard conditions of the home workshops in which practitioners work.