On my last trip to Peru I purchased beautiful Acai seeds and Tagua nuts dyed rich vibrant colors. It wasn't just the wonderful hues and smooth to the touch forms that attracted be to this natural material but also the fact that they are eco-friendly. Here are a few of my new designs and more information on these beautiful natural elements.
The Tagua Nut is also known as "vegetable ivory" and is indigenous to the rain forests of South America. The nut when it is dried resembles Ivory and can be carved into jewelry, buttons, and sculptural pieces. A sustainable and renewable resource, harvesting these nuts has little negative impact on the environment since it is the nut, and not the tree itself, that is used.
Tagua is a renewable resource that furthers important environmental and socioeconomic goals by stimulating the local economies and micro enterprises in South America, providing an alternative to rain forest destruction and prevents elephants from being killed for their ivory tusks.
Because of its incredible likeness to animal ivory, tagua is also being used as an ivory and bone substitute, so similar in fact, that it is being used for many museum and historical reproductions of elephant ivory artifacts.
The Acai Seed - Sustainably harvested the Acai Palm Tree is not harmed in any way when harvesting the Acai berries. The actual berry is only about an inch in length and is similar in color to a blackberry. The berry contains a large seed in the center. The actual seed is not only a beautiful natural material but is also an eco-friendly byproduct of the harvesting of the Acai fruit. Instead of simply discarding the seed it is repurposed into beautiful jewelry and provides additional economic resources for the native people of the rain forest.
To see more of my jewelry using these eco-friendly materials click here :
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