Made from a natural fiber called Paia Toquilla, a palm-like plant Toquilla palm, the plant from which the fibers of a Panama hat are produced and from which it gets its Spanish name, grows in both the Amazon jungle and the coastal region of Ecuador. Only the coastal palms however, specifically those from a city called Montecristí in the Manabí province, produce the fiber used to make Panama hats as the ones in the jungle are not sufficiently flexible or durable.. Besides Paia Toquilla, Andean residents use Carludovica Palmata, another type of Andean straw for their Panama hats.