Purpura snail milkers in Oaxaca extracted ink from up to 3,000 molluscs daily, a grueling ritual led by 81-year-old Habacuc Avendaño. Today, dwindling snails cast doubt over the 1,500-year Mixtec dye craft, famed for transforming white yarn sunlit purple.

From hammocks beside Chachacual Bay, Habacuc and his son Rafael recall days of abundance, now replaced by a search yielding just 100 snails. The rare dye tradition faces extinction, as SEO phrase 'natural purple dye' grows in curiosity—imagine purple fingers and empty baskets.