Menu
The world is reaching a point where it is already impossible to deny that our planet is wounded. We are destroying our environment and depleting our natural resources at an alarming rate, which compromises our very existence as a species, and that of countless other species.
But nature is wise and generous with those who know how to hear it. We can find in nature itself alternatives to supply the same needs that we now satisfy by destroying our environment. One of these amazing alternatives is a plant called Tagua.
This plant, also known as ivory nut or vegetable ivory, is the seed of the Phytelephas Macrocarpa palm, which grows in the tropical rainforests of the Pacific region, especially in Panama, Colombia and Ecuador.
Tagua has many commercial applications that could preserve other natural resources, especially in the textile industry. In addition, the preservation of Tagua is important for the conservation of the natural environments where it is found. In the following video, you can learn more about this topic. We’ve added a transcript of the video in both English and Spanish to make it easier to understand.
Tagua, una alternativa para salvar el mundo from trafino on Vimeo.
Yolanda Kakabadse: it is a plant, one that may disappear if we don’t take care of it.
Francisco Luna: The Tagua palm tree cannot be planted, a way to plant it has not been discovered, this palm grows wild in Ecuador’s rainforest.
Yolanda Kakabadse: The forests could be destroyed within days, weeks.
Francisco Luna: Deforestation is growing at a rapid place.
Francisco Luna: If forest dwellers cannot live on what the forest produces, they will destroy trees and palm trees.
Isidro Santos: The forests are disappearing and we, as keepers, are truly worried.
Francisco Luna: Once the coconut-like Tauga seed matures it falls naturally from the Palm tree, the animals of the forest eat the shell of the seed, the locals collect and obtain an income from selling the seeds. This allows them to live from what the forest produces and they, in return, protect, take care and preserve the forest.
Francisco Luna: The Tagua seed is the raw material for the production of the Tagua buttons used in clothing manufacturing.
Francisco Luna: The Tagua handcrafts that replace those made of ivory.
Francisco Luna: The Tagua powder is used by the cosmetic industry as exfoliant in replacement of plastic microbeads.
Francisco Luna: The Tagua buttons compete with those made of polyester, polyester is a non-biodegradable product, polyester buttons pollute the enviroment.
Francisco Luna: The Tagua seed has a huge social value because it creates thousands of jobs.
Man: It is vegetable ivory and it is a wild seed.
Yolanda Kakabadse: The Tagua palm tree grows wild in the rainforest, it is our responsibility to protect it.
Francisco Luna: Every time you wear a garment with Tagua buttons you are saving a tree, you are doing your part of conservation, defending the world and combating climate change
Participate in our ecological volunteer programs.
