A Designer Looks to a Renewable Material With the Ibuju Collection

Colombian designer Francisco Jaramillo grew up in the Amazon and saw firsthand how indiscriminate logging practices have been destroying their ecosystem. One of the biggest issues the region faces is the use of native wood, and the Ibuju Collection offers an alternative. Yaré is a natural fiber commonly referred to as vine, and Jaramillo proposes taking advantage of the renewable material to create furniture. By rethinking the design and manufacturing of native wood pieces a difference can be made. Jaramillo’s first effort is this collection, made up of a bench, coffee table, and stool.

The Ibuju Collection begins with a group of weavers responsible for translating the original furniture designs, planning how weaving with yaré can be accomplished with the same woven geometries. The fiber is then harvested by indigenous communities in southern Colombia from where it grows on trees. Long used by locals for crafts, it can do so much more – Jaramillo has found his starting point.