From the shore of the Bañado de la Estrella ( The Star Wetland) they extract the leaves of the Carandillo, transforming into beautiful objects. All its pieces are woven entirely in palm of Carandillo and using ancestral techniques.
In women’s organizations, the best artisans teach the youngest the art of weaving by achieving unique pieces and transmitting ancient knowledge. With These objects, they give them a souvenir of their land that gives them everything they need to create pieces of art. Each piece is unique and special.
Carandillo Process
Pilagá women go to the watersheds, in groups of four and five women. That’s where they collect the leaves of Carandillo. Usually women have to walk five kilometers in order to make themselves of the best leaves.
From their houses they leave all together but, when they reach the divde, they separate to choose their own leaves. They can collect up to a hundred leaves. The older women carry the leaves on their backs, while the younger ones carry them in their heads. For products that are large, up to 120 sheets of the larger ones are needed.
Because the Carandillo is not cultivated, the women only take part of the leaves of the plant so that they can continue to grow other new leaves.
One of the secrets that have the Pilagá to get good leaves is to leave the days where the previous night there was full moon. Women claim that the largest leaves are in those days.
Pilagá women take advantage to go out to the Monte when there is sun because at night the roads become dangerous because snakes and other animals coexist, which can hurt them. So they leave very early and spend all day collecting their leaves.
After collecting the leaves, the shredding begins. This process allows the leaves to be transformed into thin and soft fibers that will then be used as threads to weave the baskets. This process is carried out with needles. Once the defibering has been achieved, the women let the fibers rest in the sun for a whole day so that they take white color.
Finally, after having soft and white fibers, begins the fabric that gives rise to beautiful products.