THE CARANDILLA PALM

Carandilla palm is a specie of plant that grows naturally in the Chaco mountain range of Argentina and is used to manufacture products.

Northern tribes of Argentina are particularly knowledgeable about the use and benefits of the carandilla palm. The transition of knowledge related to the environment is carried out through practice, experience and direct observation.

Mothers often take their children to the nearby mountain and teach them to recognize plants, fruits, their characteristics and histories that are associated with beneficial and malignant properties
The women go as a group (domestic group) to collect this plant. They move along a main path and go into the forest as they find the right plants. 

THE COLLECTION

The work is done manually, collecting the palm and using its leaves to make various objects. Depending on the product to be made, the treatment of the leaves will vary. They can be used wet (not well extracted from the plant) or dry, after leaving it several days in the sun.

For the harvest of the palm, the tribe workers use tools and implements such as the machete, the wheelbarrow, among others to move the material.

The collection is an important part of the process and learning, where the younger generation learns to distinguish the useful elements in the species, such as food, dyes, medicines, among others). In other words, they are prepared to read the "announcements" in the landscape and understand the behaviour of insects and animals. 

THE PROCESS

The artisans apply different techniques: in spiral, where the base is constituted by beams of palm prepared with a needle, interlaced with the fingers and with wooden molds on which the fibers are intertwined. The baskets would have been originally made for utilitarian purposes to perform the tasks of harvesting different fruits of the forest.

The productive form is an activity that is carried out individually and / or family with collaboration of the members of the domestic group, with the division of tasks t-obtaining of raw materials, production and marketing.

Women and men carry out the production and marketing of handicrafts and in some cases, the children of the group participate in some of the production phases and sometimes they also carry out the sale in the areas near the fairs.

In this productive situation, the joint participation of several members of the group in the different productive and marketing instances is preeminent. 

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