Sunday, February 10, 2008

New Age Sustainable Product - The Ayate wash cloth


The Ayate wash cloth is a wonderful Sustainable product. As a Shaman living a shamanic lifestyle as much as possible, I find these sustainable and fair trade ayote cloths to be a wonderful addition to my life.


Ayate wash cloth products are a fiber woven cloth that comes from the Maguey (agave salminae). The ayate is a productive fiber has been used in the "Valle Del Mazquital" located in the central part of Mexico where more than four hundred thousand people live. Ayate has been known for its durability, natural origins and usefulness to natives, but slowly the Ayate products are turning into an international sensation. Today, ayate is used as an all-safe mildew resistant body exfoliator, designed to last up to about a year with normal use and becoming an alternative to using wash cloths and loopahs. Maguey is predominately used in Mexico as a resource that provides natives over 100 different products of which include clothing, food, medicine, firewood, furniture, and soap. The importance of the Maguey has prevailed through time and has become a dominant source of income for these natives. Once the Maguey is at a mature state, which can take up to ten years, the ayate fiber then can be extracted along with other resources the Maguey is used for. The process of making Ayate is extravagant, labor-intensive and can take up to two to four days to complete. But because of the high demand for the resources that lay within the Maguey, it leaves little time for growth and ability to cultivate these plants.


To see our own collection of Ayate products please click on the Ayate link- AYATE LINK

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