| These vegetable ivory tagua nut animal carvings are hand carved in Ecuador. |
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| The tagua nuts grow in large armored clusters with each cluster containing many egg sized nuts. |
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| Actually, in areas where tagua nuts are gathered, production is continuous, although a peak in fruit production does exist in the dry season. |
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| The tagua nuts are carved manually with tools to create a unique and imaginary art inspired by the surrounding flora and fauna. |
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| The harvesting of tagua nuts is a sustainable activity, helping to preserve the rainforest. |
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| Add highly polished tagua nuts and asai and divi-divi seeds for a colorful and fun necklace or bracelet. |
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| Artisans in Ecuador take a tagua nut, and through judicious carving sculpt very cute animals and birds. |
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| A native of the Andes mountains, tagua nuts have long been prized for their hard, white, close-grained ivory meat. |
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| Materials: natural beads in tagua, natural beads in ebony, ceramic indian beads and metal beads on brown cotton waxed cord. |
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| Please note tagua nuts are notoriously difficult to hold onto, are so dense that you may end up burning the nut trying to cut it if your blade is moving too fast. |
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| Another ecological incentive for using vegetable ivory is that renewed trade in tagua nuts could help protect endangered rain forests in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. |
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| Tagua has been called 'vegetable ivory' because the hard tagua nut has a white endosperm similar to elephant ivory. |
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| The tagua nut is also known as vegetable ivory for its weight and smooth hand feel. |
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| Vegetable ivory is taken from the hard seeds of the tagua palm, found in much of northern South America but particularly in lowland Ecuador. |
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| Materials: natural beads in tagua, beads in metal and in synthetic resin on black cotton waxed cord. |
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| The Nuna Fiori flower necklace, shown here, is crafted from the tagua nut, and no two necklaces are alike. |
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| Ms. Brandt's attention is currently focused on a new line of knuckle-dusting bridal rings fashioned from milky-colored tagua nut and chocolaty African olivewood, and topped by Herkimer diamonds, a type of quartz crystal. |
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| K'ewasoso: Following an artisanal process involving a clinging vine found locally, the product obtained is blue in colour, and is used by the Embera and Wounaan people to make their baskets and tagua carvings. |
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| There are several species of tagua palm in South America but it is the kernels of the Ecuadorian palm, Phytelephas aequatorialis, which are harvested most. |
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| In fact, it's carved from a tagua nut, an interesting material in itself. |
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| It is sometimes called vegetable ivory, or tagua, and is the seed endosperm of the ivory nut palm commonly found in coastal rainforests of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. |
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| Synergy Group Corporation TACA Airlines Tagua Leasing LLC TAL International Group Inc. |
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