September 3, 2022, 9:40 AM
September 3, 2022, 9:40 AM
It’s not barber talk, really there is a tree native to Santa Cruz that has the power to produce soap. As if it were an act of magic, the already ripe fruit of the isotoubo it falls to the ground, it is collected, it is broken to remove the seed and the husks are gathered and then rubbed under water. The foam does not take long to appear, and voila! A foaming solution is obtained with which to clean. What a wonderful gift of nature!
This is the fruit, very similar to a marble / Photo: Jorge Gutiérrez / Location: Botanical Garden
With that the people of the countryside used to wash their clothes and the body, since it has antiseptic properties and as if that were not enough, it gives off a very pleasant and delicate sweet aroma.
This magical fruit of the isotoubo was disappearing from the collective memory. It could still be found in the dirt streets and canchones of the houses in Chiquitania. Today, only specimens remain in the Botanical Garden, where they are preserved with great care, and in the Chiquitano dry forest.
The fruit is split and only the shell is collected to rub it in the water / Photo: Jorge Gutiérrez / Location: Botanical Garden
The tree can grow between 16 and 20 meters. Its crown is irregular, its fruit is round, small and brown, which simulates being a marble lustrous
The agricultural engineer Elena Vallejos and the tourism graduate Virna Abrego tour the extensive Botanical Garden, revealing the secrets and uses of each species. The pleasant walk is enriching, while they explain the properties, benefits and characteristics of our trees, plants and flowers.
The shell of the fruit is put to soak and with the hands it is squeezed, almost instantly the foam begins to occur / Photo: Jorge Gutiérrez / Location: Botanical Garden
What for the untrained eye are only trees and plants, for them they are an extensive catalog of natural wonders who always have the generosity to exist to offer something to man.
Do you want to see the fruit transform into soap? Here we leave you the video:
