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Anyone have any experience with dried or petrified cactus? I would love to make a rain stick!
That makes sense about the Capado cactus being from Chile. If you look for rain sticks on Ebay for example, they are all from Chile and being sold cheap. Not sure how you could import some Capado cactus.Here is a little information I found on Yahoo. Apparently the Capado cactus is the one to use. The Cholla is also called the walking stick cactus. I've seen a couple of sticks made from them and would love to get one to try.
"The Capado cactus grows in the country of Chile. The cactus lives 60 to 70 years. When a cactus dies, it is cut down. The dead cactus may be used as firewood. But often, it is used for something much more interesting than firewood. The dead cactus is used to make a musical instrument called a rainstick.
The dead cactus is cut into long pieces. Each piece makes a rainstick. First, the sharp thorns are pulled out. Then, the thorns are pushed back into the soft cactus. Next, the cactus is placed in the sun to dry. When it is dry, the hollow cactus is filled with small pebbles. The ends of the cactus are sealed with pieces of wood."