Jose Cordoba started working at a very young age in a factory near Otavalo, in the province Imbabura located in the Northern Sierra of Ecuador. After he married, the couple moved to Quito where he worked in a synthetic material factory. When he had saved enough money he and his wife moved back to Peguche, a small village outside of Otavalo, where he began weaving himself.

Prior to dollarization the Cordobas had a prosperous business employing various helpers to produce a substantial amount of merchandise.

However, since economic changes, resulting from dollarization, the family has undergone financial troubles causing them to lay off their employees, forcing the family to produce a much smaller volume of product.