TAGUA 1/2 NUT BRACELET: NEUTRAL and EARTHY COLORS! Fair Trade by jjfarm

Description

This listing is for one gorgeous, handmade tagua nut bracelet, in your choice of colors: black, natural white, tan, or brown.. Each bracelet is double strung with strong elastic cord to make them durable, and are able to fit many people.
Our tagua bracelets are a fair trade and sustainably harvested forest product from Ecuador.   Tagua--commonly known as palm ivory or vegetable ivory--is the nut of a tropical palm tree.   With the same color, density and luster as elephant ivory, the two are indistinguishable outside of a laboratory.  Tagua is often used to craft unique, one of a kind artisan jewelry.   Another common use is to repair antique items featuring ivory inlay that has subsequently become damaged over the years.   Tagua is truly a beautiful material and this bracelet will be cherished for years.
Please Note:  This is a natural, hand dyed product.  The bracelet you receive may deviate slightly from those pictured.    As always, if you are not satisfied with your item, return it in like-new condition with-in 2 weeks for a complete refund.
We travel once a year to South America to visit our friends, Olga and Cesar in their workshop, the Galleria Pucara in Imbabura, Ecuador.   The Galleria is able to provide meaningful employment to many women in the community where they work to cut, dye, and polish the nuts, then turn them into exquisite artisan jewelry. We've made the decision to pay them their retail price rather than asking for a bulk purchase discount because we know that our business helps support the community.
Tagua palm trees grow from sea level up into the cloud forest on the Pacific slope as well as in the jungles of the Ecuadorian Amazon. They aren't cultivated per se, rather growing in semi-domesticated groves.  Because you have to have tagua palms to have tagua nuts, as long as there is a market for the nuts the best economic use of the land is to leave the trees alone and not cut them down to grow corn or raise cattle.  Your purchase of tagua helps preserve vulnerable tropical forests.
The trees are stout, darkly green palms, growing about 10-20 ft high. Often the trunks will be leaning at an angle because tagua nuts are a favorite food of tapers, an animal that can weight upwards of 800 lbs.  They'll push on the trunks, trying to force the nuts down within reach.   Locals regard tapirs the way we northerners might regard white tail deer—four legged locusts that do great damage to the garden.
Thanks for your interest in our Tagua jewelry, and be sure to look at our other Tagua pieces in our EBAY shop. Chances are, you might just find a bracelet and/or earrings to match.
Amy and Greg, Jehovah Jireh Woolmill