Description
Tagua Nut is also called Vegetable Ivory. Deep in the Amazon Rainforest, mostly in Ecuador, grows a tree called the Tagua, or the ivory palm. It produces an extraordinary fruit, the Tagua nut, which has been used to make buttons, jewelry and carved objects like chess pieces, piano keys and umbrella bases since the 19th Century. The tagua palm offers even more. The remaining dust is used as fuel to elaborate carbon. The palm leaves are used for water resistant ceilings. Plus the obtention, processing, and exporting provide a lot of people with jobs.
Mostly vegetable ivory can contribute significantly to African Elephant preservation. If you want to enjoy the luxury of an ivory, you don’t have to disrupt the African savannas. In the South American jungles there’s so much ivory, it even grows in the trees.
The Tagua Nut, the elephant friend.
