They create a disposable diaper with natural fibers.

Salvatierra, Gto., April 14, 2016.- With the finality to use the benefits of nopal and ixtle betterixtle better,there was a workshop, in the venue Mayorazgo from Campus Celaya-Salvatierra, under the name "Knowledge, obtaining and handling of nopal and ixtle fiber," in which 36 students from the degrees in Agro industrial Engineering and Agribusiness participated.

Lic. Eréndira Maldonado, responsible for the Extension Unit in Salvatierra, explained that during the day, the students had the opportunity to know the benefits of nopal and ixtle, one of the forage plants more studies by several disciplines; however, little is known for their use to other areas such as elaboration of handcraft ornaments and creation of paper for the industry.

Dr. Lorena Vargas and Dr. Xóchitl Mora, full-time professors at the Division of Health Science and Engineering, were responsible for giving this workshop, both work in research with their students about malleability and resistance of the fibers of nopal and ixtle, with the purpose to give a new commercial value while finding new ways to better use the natural resources from the zone of Salvatierra through the creation of handcrafts and house ornaments.

In addition, they work on the elaboration of products friendly to the environment; this time the students obtained fiber and made a disposable diaper, observing it has similar characteristics to those obtained from the tree cellulose, proving their high resistance.

This kind of vegetables is found from the north until the center part of the country and reaches their greatest complexity in the central plateau, the nopal is a wild plant that survives in desert and cold regions and has a special meaning for the symbolic role in the foundation of the prehispanic Mexico. While ixtle is a fiber obtained from the maguey. For decades, artisans have used it to create baskets, ropes and sacks, nevertheless; the use of plastics has replaced these artisan products.

Lic. Eréndira Maldonado, responsible for organizing the workshop, expresses that they expect to open a new course, "we passed by long the demand and there is interest on rescuing the value of this natural resource and encourages its use as an activator of the local economy," hence, she invited all who is interested to be aware of the new summon.