The Agave plants can be seen in many parts of Morocco and their most well known product, the "cactus silk" that is used in fabric making is famous. At the moment the plants are in flower and it is worth a visit to the countryside to take a look at the sea of yellow flowers on the hillsides.
The Agave only flowers once before it dies and some members of the same family may take decades before flowering. For example the Parry Agave flowers only after twenty-five years. In some parts of the world they are commonly called the "Century Plant".
While described by many as "agave cactus", this description is incorrect. The perennial plants not a cactus. The genus is placed in the subfamily Agavoideae of the broadly circumscribed family Asparagaceae. Looking at the huge spikes of flowers the "Asparagaceae" tag makes sense.
The plant has many uses other than the production of fibre. It is used to produce a nectar, skin lotions and much sort after as a landscaping plant by architects. Also, by the amount of bee activity, it must produce an interesting, if rare, honey.
4 comments:
No matter how hard I search I cannot find a farm where cactus silk is made. It seems to be all over Morocco in spools and is woven everywhere...is it possible to find a farm to visit and see the process of making the sabra 'silk'.
Thanks
I believe that it's typically made in the shops that weave the fabric, I don't think that it's made on farms. It's not produced like cotton.
I believe that it's typically made in the shops that weave the fabric, I don't think that it's made on farms. It's not produced like cotton.
The problem is that there is no sabra silk in morocco. The yarn is mostly rayon and it comes from india or china, sometimes it comes over other countries. There is a production in mexico, but i am not sure how strong the fibre is. You cannot use every fibre for everything.
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