Prime material used for both hats and handcrafts is the "paja toquilla" straw.
Origin.-
The Paja toquilla straw is native in tropical America. About 1630 is dated the origin of the weaving of hats made of toquilla straw, unique in the world At the end of the 17 century the plant receives the botanical name "Carludovica Palmata" in honor of the ruling Spanish kings.
Characteristic of the plant.-
Carludovica Palmata is a kind
of palm with short sprouts. The leaves opens like
an abanic but before that they stick together and
grow to a length up to 120 cm without opening.
Cultivation.-
Carludovica Palmata is found disperse in the coastal and Amazon jungle. Today it is cultivated in the coastal mountains. As it is similar to banana small plant are planted in the distance of 3 m. Depending to the climatic conditions plants start to produce after 2-3 years.
Physical characteristics.- "Carludovica Palmata" is quite thin and grows like a fan, so every leave is cut into 50 until 80 fibers of 1-2 cm in size. During the process of drying every leave enrolls itself to a size of 1-2 mm.
Processing of the fiber.- The producers of the fiber start with the cutting of the principal vein, than it is boiled and dried in the shade. The quality of the hat depends on the quality of this process as the color of the straw depends how it is dried.
Selling of the Fiber.- Most of the fiber is sold to merchants who transport the fiber to the production centers, being the areas Sigsig and Azogues the principal buyers. To there is some direct trade between producer organizations of the raw straw and organization like "Maria Auxiliadora", who knit the hats.
THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF A HAT
First of all the knitter buys the straw by "ochos" being one "ocho2 about 42 processed sprouts. The classification of the straw is by size and color. Than she damps it in order to get a softer fibre for starting the weaving.
Hats are made out of 3 parts: Insole, cup and side. It is started with the insole and to give it shape you use hat form. Too a leather belt may be used to form the hat and to finish the raw hat it is tight up without cutting the excess straw.
In this form the hat is sold to the exporters.
To terminate
the hat the following steps have to be made:
Lavado=
Washing
Azocado=
Tighten the end knots
Sahumado=
bleaching with sulfur
Maceteado=
hammering the hat in order to soften it
Planchado=
ironing
Prensado=
Pressing the hat in form as the client demands
Semi
blinchado= chemical bleaching
Decorado=
decoration of the hat
