Photo of Indian girls making twine by rolling the native chambira fiber on their thighs.  This is how all Amazonian tribes process chambira to make twine and rope which is vital in the making of hammocks, armbands, bags, line for fishing, and in the construction of housing structures such as malokas.  The chambira fiber is obtained from a wild palm, Astrocaryum chambira.  Surprisingly, the fiber is soft to the touch, yet very strong.  Hence, chambira makes excellent and comfortable hammocks.  It can even be woven and Amazon Indians commonly use primitive loams to weave arm and leg bands that serve as body ornaments and also can be used as tourniquets in case of injury to stop bleeding.