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Our Handicrafts
Toquilla straw process
Apr
The toquilla straw plant, also known as Cardoluvica Palmata, is a vegetable fiber that grows in the tropical humid forest of Montecristi in Manabí, the process of this fiber has been practiced for decades with natives of this canton, the process of toquilla straw is can be divided into the following stages:
Harvest
It consists of extracting the stem that grows in the middle part of the plant, in Montecristi there are large extensions of plantation
Selection
This step consists of opening the extracted stem by hitting it against the floor, and then with a needle separating the threads on the sides from those in the middle, which will serve to weave the finest hats.
Cooking
Once the strands are already selected, they are taken to a wood oven, where they are submerged in hot water at high temperatures for 2 seconds.
Drying
After the straw has been cooked, it is stretched out on large stretches of string in the open air until completely dry.
Smoked
It includes introducing the already dry straw into a wood-fired oven completely covered with sulfur, so that the straw takes its natural cream color.
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