Fique is a natural fibre that grows in the leaves of plants in the genus '' Furcraea''. Common names include fique, cabuya, pita, penca, penco, maguey, cabui, chuchao and coquiza.

History

The

Indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

extracted and used the fique fibers to make garments, ropes, and

hammock A hammock, from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno language, Taíno and Arawak language, Arawak , is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swing (seat), swinging, sleeping, or Human relaxation, res ...

s—among many things—for several centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquerors. In the 17th century, Dutch colonists carried the plant from their Brazilian colonies in

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

to the island of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. The native inhabitants of the island learned to use the fibre and called it , or . The fibre was also introduced to St. Helena, India, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Madagascar, East Africa, Mexico and Costa Rica. In the 18th century, in Dagua, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, the priest Feliciano Villalobos started the first rope and wrapping materials manufacturing industry; his products were made of fique. In 1880 the Colombian government reported a yearly production of three million kilograms of fibres, the exportation to Venezuela of two million, the fabrication of five millions pairs of alpargatas and four million metres of rope. Between 1970 and 1975 the fique industry suffered a crisis brought about by the development of

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

, which costs less and is produced faster. Today, fique is considered the Colombian national fibre and is used in the fabrication of ethnic products, Colombian handicrafts and recently (since July 2007) has been used for the heat protectors (handmade in Barichara) placed around the Colombian coffee cups sold in the Juan Valdez coffee shops worldwide.

Uses

*Packing: The main use of the Colombian cabuya is for the fabrication of sacks and packages for agriculture. According with the number of threads, the products are classified as: **Dense: 6000 to 10,000 threads per square metre. Used for

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

and small grains such

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

. **Semidense: 4800 to 5500. Used for bigger grains such

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s. **Loose: 300 to 360. Used for fruits, vegetables and

panela Panela () or rapadura (Portuguese pronunciation: ) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other names in Lati ...

. *Ropes: with cabuya one can make very resistant ropes and strings of different calibres, from threads to manilas one inch in diameter. Such ropes are used in the industries of transportation, construction, sailing and many others. * Arriería accessories: many of the elements used in the

pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is a working animal used to transport goods or materials by carrying them, usually on its back. Domestic animals of many species are used in this way, among them alpacas, Bact ...

s, such as enjalmas, cinchas, retrancas, lazos, pretales, tapa de enjalma, and cinchos are handmade with fique. * Tapestry: the mixed and crude cabuya is used in rugs and tapestry of different size and quality. The fibres can be stained with different organic materials, such as avocado seed, achiote and

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

cortex. *Others: handcrafts, purses, bags, handbags,

mattress A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a person Lying (position), lying down, especially for sleeping. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a Quilting, quilted o ...

es, curtains, shoes, umbrellas, baskets and many other products.

Subproducts

*Pulp: Used to produce organic fertilizer and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

*Leaves juice: Can be used for fabrication of

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

fungicide Fungicides are pesticides used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in losses of yield and quality. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals, ...

s, alcoholic beverages (homemade tapetusa), organic fuel and animal

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

. *Floral stem: The strong floral stem of the fique plant is used in the construction of houses and ladders. *Bulbs: The pickled terminal bulbs of the plant are edible. *Medicinal uses: Peasants use the leaves in topic preparations for treatment of boils. The extract of leaves is used against

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

lice.

Cultivation

The fique can be obtained from several species of '' Furcraea'', such as '' F. macrophylla'' Baker, cabuya Trel, andina Trel, and castilla. Depending on the processing of the fiber and the species used, many varieties of fique fibers can be obtained. Among others:

Main varieties

*Ceniza (ash-colored) *Espinosa (rough texture) *Castilla or Golden border *Sisal

Secondary varieties

*Cabuya verde (green) *Uña de águila (eagle nail) *Negra común (black common) *Chachagueña *Genoia *Tunosa común (common spiked) *Jardineña *Espadilla *Rabo de chucha ( opossum tail). Optimal conditions for the growing of the fique plant are: *Temperature: 19 °C – 23 °C *Altitude: 1,300 m – 1,900 m *Annual rainfall: 1,000 mm – 1,600 mm *Sunlight: 5–6 hours/day *Soil: dry, rich in

silicate A silicate is any member of a family of polyatomic anions consisting of silicon and oxygen, usually with the general formula , where . The family includes orthosilicate (), metasilicate (), and pyrosilicate (, ). The name is also used ...

s. Fique crops bring

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

to the soil, improving its fertility. The plant is very adaptable to different ecological conditions. A fique plant can produce 1 to 6 kg of fiber each year.

Diseases

*Llaga macana or rayadilla: a viral disease that attacks all varieties of fique and all the parts of the plant, especially in crops over 1900 m altitude. The disease has no chemical control. It must be managed with preventive measures. *Pink disease: caused by the

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

'' Erythricium salmonicolor''. The disease damages the leaves, disrupting the fibers. Treatment is undertaken with

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

-based fungicides. Peasants treat this disease by applying ashes to the base of the leaves. *Leaf

cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...

( ''Diaspis bromelia''): caused by a parasitic insect. *Leaf beetle: a

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

that perforates the base of the leaves.

References

{{Authority control Furcraea Fiber plants Biodegradable materials Cellulose Crops originating from Colombia Crops originating from Ecuador Crops originating from Peru Crops originating from South America Culture of Colombia Garden plants of South America Plants described in 1915