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The Andean Collection - Process

Process: From Seeds to Beads

Tagua (tawg-WA)

Tagua has come to play an important role in local economies of Ecuador. Selling tagua provides small landowners an important alternative to cutting down forests for cattle grazing or to sell hardwood, protecting both their way of life and the precious forests that surround them. Microenterprise workshops have also sprung up throughout Ecuador that offer tagua in various forms to be sold in national and international markets.

The Andean Collection visited Don Alfredo, who is a prime example of how a small landowner benefits from the use of tagua in our jewelry line. Located in a small coastal town in the province of Manabí, the plot of land behind Don Alfredo’s house includes a beautiful mixture of tagua, cocoa, coffee, banana, orange, and avocado trees. These trees offer his family a sustainable source of food and income if cared for properly. Although the tagua trees can be harvest approximately 4 times a year, Don Alfredo chooses to harvest only 3 times a year to assure the trees’ viability. The tagua pods are harvested from the tree, the outside shells are removed and fed to livestock, and the inner nut is sold to intermediaries or to the artisans directly. Also, many houses in Don Alfredo’s community have thatched roofs made with the leaf of the tagua tree, the Ecuadorean Ivory Palm.

THE PROCESS

Often the tagua nut is delivered to the artisans directly after it is harvested from the palm, so although the tagua is hard, it is not quite dry enough to start working. A sun drying process of as long as 3 to 4 months is necessary. After the tagua is completely dry, and before the artisans begin to work with it, an additional outer shell is removed from the tagua.

Christian, an artisan who is part of The Andean Collection, not only designs and finishes tagua jewelry, but also processes the tagua necessary for the designs. The first step is cutting the tagua into desired shapes for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings—a process requiring an amazing degree of precision and skill. (It is also important to mention that within the artisans’ workshops, many of the small machines that help speed up these processes are hand-made original designs, such as a motorized sanding system in 5-gallon buckets.)

The beautiful white color of tagua contrasted with the natural brown shell makes fantastic jewelry without dyeing, but the hand-dyeing process offers just about every color imaginable – so it’s really up to the customer to choose. The tagua is soaked in water before being dyed in order to increase its permeability and allow the dye to permanently fix within the seed. Tagua used in The Andean Collection is dyed with textile dyes. Once dyed, the tagua pieces must once more undergo a sun-drying process of up to 3 or 4 days to assure that the color permeates the tagua. The final stages of the process include more sanding and polishing to achieve the brilliant colors seen on all our tagua jewelry. Once the tagua is prepared in the workshop, Christian and his family assemble the jewelry designs. Tagua is often combined with other seeds, such as acai, for an especially unique look.

No part of the tagua is wasted. The unused pieces of tagua from the workshop, or whole tagua nuts that were not used because of a natural fault, are often used as fuel for brick-making ovens. The dust produced when cutting the tagua can also be used as plant fertilizer or in food for animals such as chickens, pigs, cows, or fish.

Açaí (ah-sah-EE)

Açaí, which is quickly gaining popularity as a drink for its antioxidant and energizing properties, is also gaining a spot for itself among indigenous artisans in Ecuador for its unique look and delicate size perfect for jewelry.

THE PROCESS

Indigenous communities collect açaí from the rainforest for sale to Adrian, whose workshop prepares it for our artisans. When the seeds arrive, they still have the outer shell on and may or may not be dried properly. If the seeds are moist they will begin to rot and lose their potential to be made into beads, so the first step for Adrian is to dry all the seeds. Next, Adrian sands off the outer shell of the seed. This is most often done using machines designed by the artisans that include electric-powered 5-gallon buckets with sandpaper inside – an ingenious design for sanding larger quantities of seeds at once. Then Adrian drills holes in the seeds one-by-one – converting these rainforest seeds to rainforest beads. For a natural ivory colored seed with brown highlights, the process is somewhat simple and ends with sanding and polishing. But, for hand-dyed açaí, the process is similar to that of tagua and pambil. The açaí is soaked in water before dyeing to increase its permeability. Açaí used in The Andean Collection is dyed with textile dyes which are environmentally friendly and non-toxic. Once dyed, the açaí must dry to assure that the color permeates the seed. The final stages of the process include more sanding and polishing to achieve brilliant-colored açaí. Once the açaí is prepared in the workshop, it is passed on to Nancy and Olga who begin to assemble the beautiful jewelry that incorporates this unique bead.

Coconut

The Coconut Palm, which is abundant on the Ecuadorian coastline and is known in many cultures as a tree of thousands of uses, is often sold at roadside stands in Ecuadorian coastal towns, chilled and with straw included, for its refreshing water. “Encocado” is also a traditional Ecuadorean way to prepare most seafood, mixing coco water with various spices as the base for cooking fish, shrimp, or lobster. The shell of this nut, which is often a byproduct of such culinary delicacies, is another natural material often used in The Andean Collection jewelry line. They are bought by workshops, like that of Don Luis, that are skilled in changing these coconut shells into beautiful, natural pieces, perfect for a delicate necklace or bracelet.

THE PROCESS

The dried coconut shells bought by Don Luis’s workshop are cut into specific shapes and sizes depending on the jewelry design. Once cut into specific forms, the coconuts are still quite rough and the polishing process begins. First, all the coconut pieces enter a polishing machine which uses water and stones specific for sanding to polish the coconut pieces to a more refined state. Afterwards, the coconut is passed piece-by-piece through various polishing machines until a brilliant, smooth surface is achieved. Some coconut pieces can also be hand-dyed for a darker, richer look. Another method that is used to achieve this look is to heat the coconut pieces with cooking oil.

Huayruro (why-ru-roe)

The seed to bead process for huayruro is so easy, and the vivid colors of the seed are so beautiful, that you may be led to believe that it was designed by nature to be a bead in The Andean Collection jewelry line.

THE PROCESS

Huayruro is collected from the forest floor by communities in the Amazon Region. Its vivid red and deep black color makes the process of converting it to a bead as easy as drilling a hole in the center. Although the small size of many huayruro—the smallest measuring a little more than an 1/8th of an inch—can make this process a challenge. Once a hole is successfully drilled into the center of a seed, it is ready to be a bead.

Jaboncillo (hab-own-SI-yo)

Much like that of huayruro, the seed to bead process for jaboncillo is very easy, making it a perfect natural bead for The Andean Collection jewelry line.

THE PROCESS

Jaboncillo is collected from the forest floor and sold to Don Justo, who prepares it for our artisans in just a few short steps. The seeds are popped out of their leather-like outer casings and then washed to remove their cotton-like coverings, resulting in a wonderfully deep, glossy appearance. Finally, Don Justo uses a drill to make holes in each seed before it is passed along to Nancy and Olga who use this natural wonder in earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

Pambil (pam-BEEL)

Pambil and açaí are often complementary beads in many jewelry designs. Very similar in their natural state, the main difference in the appearance of these two seeds is their size. They also undergo a very similar process to prepare them to be beads.

THE PROCESS

Indigenous communities collect pambil from the rainforest for sale to Victor Hugo, whose workshop transforms these seeds into beads for our artisans. Before taking off the outer shell, Victor Hugo drills holes in the seeds one-by-one. The next step is to sand off the outer shell, and much like the machines that process açaí, these machines were designed by Victor Hugo and include electric powered 5 gallon buckets with sand paper inside. For a natural ivory colored seed with brown highlights, the process is somewhat simple, and ends with sanding and polishing. But, for hand-dyed pambil, the process is similar to that of tagua and açaí. The pambil is soaked in water before dyeing to increase its permeability. As we noted for tagua and açaí, The Andean Collection beads are dyed with textile dyes which are environmentally friendly. Once dyed, the pambil is dried and again sanded and polished to achieve brilliant colors and a polished finish. Once the pambil is prepared in Victor Hugo’s workshop, he passes it on to Nancy and Olga who use pambil in many of their designs.