Tagua Carving Hummingbird

Tagua Carving Hummingbird | Fair Trade Ecuador Tagua Nuts | Vegan Ivory Carvings Carving Name: Hummingbird – dimensions: 8 x 7 x 7cm Weight Approx: 75g

Please note that each nut is individually carved so there will be minor differences due to the person carving and the natural variation in the nut. We have taken a photo of a few together to give you an idea of the variation that exists.

Tagua is a rainforest nut known as vegetable ivory for its likeness to animal ivory. These are seeds that grow in pods called cabezas, from the tagua nut palm tree. Tagua is the world hardest vegetable product. Tagua’s smooth, hard texture is an ideal medium for carving jewellery, boxes and other figurines or using the whole seed as beads for necklaces and bracelets.

Our supplier, an Ecuador-based NGO, counters poverty and deforestation by creating new jobs that depend on conservation and responsible forest management. The organisation works with 23 local artisans, mostly working in home-based workshops to create several, beautiful objects from tagua nuts.

These nuts grow year-round in Ecuador and can be harvested without causing any harm to the rainforest. This makes them a highly sustainable product, protects elephants and provides meaningful on-going work for the local people who harvest them.

We sell other carvings too and also sell tagua nuts if you fancy trying your hand at carving. See our other listings here.

Background

Vegetable ivory or tagua nut is a product made from the very hard white endosperm of the seeds of certain palm trees. Vegetable ivory is named for its resemblance to animal ivory. Species in the genus Phytelephas (literally “elephant plant”), native to South America, are the most important sources of vegetable ivory.  More information can be found here.

These are hand-carved in Ecuador by a skilled artist.  This ancient art is in danger of dying out and we aim to support its continuation.  It provides skilled work from a sustainable source for the local population.

Tagua Carving Hummingbird Facts

We thought long and hard about the best way to make an impact with our ethical jewellery business and alongside giving 10% of our net profits to charity, we make every product from ethically-sourced tagua nuts, a.k.a. ‘vegetable ivory’. Here are just a few of the fascinating reasons why we love this magical nut:

1. It’s not a nut, it’s actually a seed.

2. It is famed for its likeness to elephant ivory in both its stunning appearance and remarkable durability.

3. Removes the need for elephant ivory.

4. The hard tagua seeds grow at the top of palm trees, 10-20 metres up. Botanical name for these is “Phytelephas Aequatorialis”.

5. They grow in the rainforests of Ecuador, South America.

6. A tagua palm can take 15 years to mature. It then produces tagua nuts for up to 100 years. Our partner NGO is committed to planting new trees.

7. In any given year a tagua palm can produce up to 10kg of vegetable ivory – more than an elephant can produce in a lifetime.