Amazonian coloured wild rubber

Last week we talked about the need to create a sustainable economy and presented the Piaçava Coconut. A raw material extracted from the Piaçava Tree that not only generates income, but also contributes to the maintenance of the Brazilian Mata Atlântica. To read more about this visit Piaçava Coconut.

This week we will talk about the Amazonian coloured wild rubber, another raw material that helps to develop sustainable economy: the FSA. We hope that with these examples of sustainable exploit of nature we can inspire one to be eco-friendly in their daily life and consumption choices!

The Amazonian coloured wild rubber sheet (also known as FSA) represents a social technology from the Amazon Rainforest developed by the UNB (University of Brasília) chemistry lab with the intent of generating income for the forest communities. This material is innovative not only because of its high quality, but also by its ability of improve work conditions in the forest, by raising income for families and by including woman and young people in the production chain.

The Brazilian designer Flavia Amadeu develops social work projects since her childhood. She kept this bound with social working even when she started to work as a designer with the development of projects with artisans from all around Brazil. In 2004, her life changed when she discovered the rubber social project in UNB. Enchanted by this project that aimed to generate income for the communities, she decided to work with the lab to improve the material so it could be sold in the market.

Nowadays, her Amazonian coloured wild rubber pieces are mainly made with the FSA and she is always looking for new partnerships to develop new products. Her work is a powerful source of inspirations for all of us because proves that technology can be used in favour of nature and communities.

Her work has been already exhibited in several exhibitions and museums around the world such as V&A in England, Koldinghus Museum in Denmark and Milan Design Week in Italy.

Discover Flavia Amadeus exclusive products in: Products Flavia Amadeu

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