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Panama
Hats are woven by hand from 'Paja Toquilla' straw,
a filament split from the leaves of the Carludovica Palmata
plant indigenous to several elevated areas in the Ecuadorian
regions of Guayas
and Manabi .
These
coastal areas, between the ports of Manta in the north
and Guayaquil in the south are the traditional
centre of toquilla straw production and weaving and the home
of the Panama Hat.
The villages of Monticristi and Jipijapa have
a history of hat production dating back at least four hundred
years and have given their names to the hats they produce.
During
the 19th century Panama Hat production was extended to the
Andean region of Azuay
centred around Ecuador's third largest city, Cuenca.
Here production was modernised and developed as an important
national industry.
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