While living for a year as a refugee in Cuenca, Ecuador, Ayda Castro learned the art form that would earn her a living once placed in the United States.
Castro left her native Colombia two and a half years ago for political reasons. Upon moving to Ecuador, she learned from a friend how to make jewelry using tagua seeds.
Colombian refugee and current Southside resident Ayda Castro uses unique materials such as tagua seeds, which resemble ivory when sliced, and dried orange peels to create colorful jewelry and other accessories.When sliced, the seeds of tagua palms, which are very plentiful in the Amazon region, resemble ivory.
“The process is all-natural and does not contaminate [the air],” said Castro, as opposed to plastic beads, which produce pollution during the molding process.
She orders the tagua from Ecuador ready to be made into jewelry or other items such as keychains, belts and rosaries. Castro said the seeds are available cut in a variety of ways, and she thinks of a design she would like to create before ordering a specific cut.