Vegetable Ivory: An Eco-friendly Substitute for Ivory

People are fond of ivory and its products since ages. It has been in demand in the upper classes of the society for many years. Ranging from being adorned as jewelry to finely carved piece of art for decoration, ivory has been the choice of millions. Due to this demand, the indiscriminate hunting of the male elephants for their tusks raised to its peak. As a result the gender balance among the elephant population got disrupted to the extent that the elephants are now on the verge of extinction.

The governments all across the globe were alarmed by this disruption of the ecological balance, the sale of ivory got banned in1989. Elephant poaching is now considered illegal failing which can lead to imprisonment. However the Ivory demands are still high and has led to illegal smuggling of the Ivory. It has always been a challenge to stop the poachers from slaughtering elephants for their ivory.

We have good news for all ivory lovers! There is a species of hard nut that has the striking resemblance to ivory. It is also eco-friendly because we do not have to disturb the balance of nature by killing elephants to obtain them. With the discovery of this peculiar nut, we are empowered more efficiently to save the elephants from ruthless killing and slaughtering.

From the African Savannah to South American forests, this wonder nut is commonly known as 'Vegetable Ivory'. It is also called Tagua in the rainforest of South America and comes from the Phytelephas, a seed from genus of palm tree that grows in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Although, the seeds of the Vegetable Ivory are very hard, they can be carved to different forms. They absorb colorants rapidly and can be polished very well. Therefore, they can be efficiently used in many ways. Nowadays, people have started using vegetable ivory to make dices, dominoes, chess pieces and buttons. In Europe and US, the trend of Vegetable Ivory has started making its way to the fashion world. They resemble the animal ivory so much that some of the South American artists have to leave pieces of brown shell of Tagua to prove that they have not used the elephant ivory.

Harvesting Tagua

Tagua Trees grow in the rainforests. The tree has big clusters of fruit under its palm-shaped leaves. In each cluster of fruit there are several seeds. People who harvest these seeds, let the fruits mature on the tree, because the interiors of the seeds of the mature fruits are harder. Such seeds resemble animal ivory. When the fruits fall to the ground, the seeds are collected and allowed to become even harder for a couple of days. After that the dark skin is peeled off, and the beautiful creamy seed is visible which resembles the color of the ivory.

The Tagua seeds can be cut into many shapes and form. Therefore, they are cut into various shapes of buttons, pendants, rings or any other form of fashion item. They can be dyed as they absorb and retain color very well.

The Eco-friendly perspective

This new found ivory has an eco-friendly touch because its discovery has the potential to reduce the brutal killing of the elephants to a very significant level. The harvesting procedure is also eco-friendly as the seed are allowed to fall to the ground naturally and the trees are not cut down to obtain the seeds. Since these Tagua grows in rainforests, by trading Tagua seeds, the local rainforest community is automatically protected. It acts as an incentive where the valuable assets of the standing forest and its community are preserved.

The discovery of these wonder seeds has clearly announced that the era of brutal killing of elephants for their tusk will soon be gone. We have reached an age where the elephant population of Africa and Asia are safe and the fragile ecosystem of the rainforests is well preserved.

Sources

Vegetable Ivory. waynesword.palomar.edu/pljan99.htm

Tagua nut vegetable ivory carvings for sale.www.tellmewhereonearth.com/Web%20Pages/Tagua%20Nut%20Carvings/ Tagua_Nut_Carvings.htm

Tagua: Vegetable Ivory Nuts from South American.Palmhttp://www.geocities.com/etoya2001/ec/tagua_en.html

Tagua Beads, Vegetable Ivory Pendants, Tagua Slices, Ivory Nut http://www.taguanutivory.com/