Yecid Robayo

Kabanka

Woodcarver

©Artesanías de Colombia

A lifetime of working wood

Yecid has been an artisan for more than 30 years
He makes wooden objects with the leftover wood from sawmills and farms
He learned his craft by himself and made his own tools

Yecid Robayo was born in Cajamarca, Tolima. Since 1985, he has been an artisan in the world of wood, and since 2000, he has been a teacher in the Escuela de Artes y Oficios Santo Domingo in Bogotá. In his workshop, Kabanka, Yecid creates unique objects from wood leftovers, highlighting the characteristics of natural resources and contributing to their preservation. Yecid won the Craftsmanship Mastery Medal in 2008, and a recognition in the book 'Maestros del Arte Popular,' both awarded by Artesanías de Colombia.

Interview

©Artesanías de Colombia

©Artesanías de Colombia

When and how did you start?: When I was a teenager in 1996, I started looking for the shapes that were expressed in wood. I created my own workshop in my family house, and started to carve wood with tools that I had made myself.
Did you learn from a master?: I did not have a master to teach me my craft when I began. I started in a self-taught way, by reading books, creating my own tools and practising with different materials such as wood and stones. Once I had already learnt woodcarving, I did work as an apprentice with master carvers, to perfect and strength my knowledge.
Do you train apprentices?: I am a teacher in my craft at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios Santo Domingo, Escuela Taller and Los Andes University. In these schools I teach the apprentices about product development for both functional and decorative pieces.
What do you love most about your profession?: I love using wood as a raw material, and the relationship that I have developed with such a special it. I have discovered the beauty in it, and the opportunity it gives me to create unique products that our clients recognise and love.

Yecid Robayo is a master artisan: he began his career in 1987 and he started teaching in 2000