Coyoyo Silk: A Potential Sustainable Luxury Fiber

Abstract

Capitalism, new technologies, synthetic fibers improvement, accelerated growth, and the never-ending pursuit of efficient and low-cost models of production are not only destroying environment but also demolishing cultures, ancestral knowledge, and risking natural fibers.

Ancastí, Catamarca, Argentina, is the home to a very special wild silk named coyoyo silk, which could be considered sustainable luxury, but it is actually unknown. This chapter aims at enriching and enlightening the fashion industry with sustainable raw material that is being left. Sustainable luxury means returning to the ancestral essence of luxury, respecting social and environmental issues; it becomes a way of empowering and strengthening local communities. Doña Pabla Quiroga is the last known craftswoman who works with coyoyo silk and maintains this ancestral knowledge alive by creating unique pieces and training women in her neighborhood.

This chapter studies the origin of mount silk, the ancestral knowledge required to process it, the spinning and weaving processes, the potential of this material as sustainable raw material, and how it can turn into sustainable luxury. Through interviews and photographs, we will explore the whole process of obtaining and processing the fiber, and we will focus on problems and hardships artisans face to maintain this local and cultural legacy alive.