The San Diego Zoo was proud to present Leonor Alfonzo as a featured artisan at the Zoo during the summer of 2009.  Leonor came to us from a small township situated in the Ecuadorian Chongon Colonche mountain range, bordering the Pacific Ocean.  Leonor started her artisan career in 1996 and is part of a select artisan group carving the tagua nut, commonly known as "vegetable ivory", into wonderful animal figurines.  With the near extinction of animal ivory, tagua nuts have become a highly valued commodity by collectors and artisans alike.