经济学人174:巴拿马草帽 守住你的帽子

 　　Panama hats

　　巴拿马草帽

　　Hold onto your headwear

　　守住你的帽子

　　Ecuador makes them and wants you to know it

　　厄瓜多尔制造了这种帽子并希望你去了解它

　　HATS have been woven in and around Montecristi, a hillside town in Ecuador near the Pacific Ocean, since as long ago as the 17th century. Locally the cream-coloured titfers, which are made from the soft fibres of a palm-like plant, are called toquilla-straw hats. To the rest of the world, however, they are known as Panama hats. Now Ecuador wants to reclaim¹ the brand.

　　蒙特克里斯蒂是厄瓜多尔的一座山地小镇，位于太平洋附近。从17世纪开始，这座小镇及其周边就开始编织帽子了。这种帽子是淡黄色的，用一种叫多基利亚的棕榈状植物的柔软纤维编织而成，当地人称它为多基利亚草帽。但对于世界其它地方的人来说，这种帽子被称为巴拿马草帽。如今厄瓜多尔希望收回这个牌子。

　　巴拿马草帽.jpg

　　The hats became known as “Panamas” because that was where they were primarily sold to international markets. By the 1840s Ecuadorean entrepreneurs² were sending them to Panama in the tens of thousands. Prospective³ gold-diggers bought them as they crossed the isthmus⁴ on their way to California. Theodore Roosevelt helped make them fashionable on a visit, in November 1906, to see the construction of the canal.

　　这种帽子被称为“巴拿马帽”是因为它最初销售的国际市场是巴拿马。在19世纪40年代之前厄瓜多尔企业家们将数以万计的帽子运往巴拿马。抱着期望的淘金者们在穿越地峡去往加州时购买这种帽子。西奥多·罗斯福在1906年访问参观巴拿马运河建筑情况时戴着这种帽子，促进了它的流行。

　　The hats fell out of favour in the second half of the 20th century, but data from Ecuador's Central Bank suggest demand is rising. The country exported finished hats worth $6m in 2013, up from a piffling $517,000 in 2003. The headwear goes mostly to Italy, Britain and the United States, where they can fetch anything from a few dollars to several thousand for the most intricate⁵ designs. According to Andrés Ycaza of the Ecuadorean Intellectual Property Institute, a skilled weaver⁶ will earn only about $800 for a hat worth close to $2,000, which can take months to make. Without a premium⁷ attached to its Ecuadorean origins, it is hard to drive prices higher.

　　这种帽子在20世纪后期开始失宠，但厄瓜多尔中央银行的资料表明需求仍在增长。2013年国家贸易出口的成品帽子总价值为六百万美元，而2003年仅为517,000美元。这种帽子主要售往意大利、英国和美国，在那里它们的价格不等，最低只有几美元，而最精细复杂的款式可以达到几千美元。据厄瓜多尔知识产权协会的安德列·伊卡萨称，一个熟练的编织工人编织一顶价值接近2000美元的帽子需要数月时间，而他从中只能挣到800美元。因为厄瓜多尔来源地不会为帽子带来额外价值，因此价格很难增高。

　　Mr Ycaza's answer is to try and promote the hat's roots. In 2012 the weaving of the toquillahat won a place on UNESCO's list of “intangible cultural heritage”. Now IEPI is trying to gain protected designation-of-origin status for the Montecristi hat in trade negotiations⁸ with the European Union, which protects everything from Roquefort cheese to Isle⁹ of Man Queenies, a type of scallop. “This is the moment to make it known to the entire world that the Montecristi hat is made here in Ecuador,” says Mr Ycaza.

　　伊卡萨给出的解决方案就是尝试发扬帽子的产地。2012年这种手工编织的多基利亚草帽还被列入联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产名录。如今IEPI正试图在与欧盟的商业谈判中为蒙特克里斯蒂的帽子争取原产地名称保护制度，这种制度保护一切东西，如曼岛奎尼扇贝和洛克福羊乳干酪。“是时候让全世界都知道蒙特克里斯蒂帽子产地是厄瓜多尔了，”伊卡萨说。

　　The idea hasn't won universal support. Although Montecristi is home to 500 or so weavers¹⁰, the city of Cuenca in the southern Andes produces and exports most finished toquilla hats. There they worry that the Montecristi brand won't much help them. “If a weaver from Manabí [Montecristi's home province] for whichever reason moves to Cuenca, the hat he makes in Cuenca isn't going to be worse than the one he weaves in Manab,” says Gabriela Molina of Homero Ortega, a family-owned hatmaker.

　　这个想法没有获得广泛支持。尽管蒙特克里斯蒂是500多名手工编织艺人的家乡，南安第斯山脉的城市昆卡也制造和出口大量成品多基利亚草帽，他们担忧蒙特克里斯蒂品牌对他们没什么帮助。“如果一名来自马纳比省（蒙特克里斯蒂的所属省）的手工编织艺人迁移到了昆卡，他在昆卡制作的帽子不会比在马纳比制作的差，”家族制帽商奥梅罗·奥特加的加夫列拉·莫利纳说。

1 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

2 entrepreneurs   

企业家( entrepreneur的名词复数 )； 主办人

参考例句：

• He is one of the entrepreneurs of the concert. 他是这场音乐会的主办人之一。
• Entrepreneurs are free to develop their businesses. 企业家们可以任意发展自己的企业。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

4 isthmus   

n.地峡

参考例句：

• North America is connected with South America by the Isthmus of Panama.巴拿马海峡把北美同南美连接起来。
• The north and south of the island are linked by a narrow isthmus.岛的北部和南部由一条狭窄的地峡相连。

5 intricate   

adj.错综复杂的，复杂精细的

参考例句：

• We were able to thread but slowly through the intricate reports.我们能弄懂这些复杂的报告，只是很慢。
• The plot of the novel is intricate and fascinating.这部小说的情节错综复杂，引人入胜。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

7 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

10 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。