Workshop run by Fernando Laposse focused on two plants, the Opuntia or Prickly Pear and the Agave. Both plants were introduced to Sicily from Mexico in the XVII century to make innovative materials. Since then, they have become such a common sight in the wild that many Italians consider them endemic to the area. In Sicily, cacti are featured in buildings and plazas and even in their ceramic crafts, yet most people are unaware of their excellent abilities to be transformed into different materials.

Participants learned about why these plants made this transatlantic voyage and were introduced to traditional Mesoamerican techniques to make everything from textiles, varnishes, dyes, and stucco from their fibers and pulp.

National ideologies are on the rise and their rhetoric is that to preserve one’s country’s identity we have to demonize foreign ideas, cultures, and people. The story of the relationship of Sicilians to their beloved cacti is a reminder that what we consider local is often global and it will continue to change as the world is irreversibly interconnected.

Besides from talking about the history of plant migration and trade we also focused on the value of craft and hand skills.

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