The initiative took internationally renowned Brazilian designers directly into the heart of the Amazon to share knowledge and new techniques of timber design with community-led manufacturers to produce high value objects made with sustainable wood certified by FSC®.
- Good Energies Foundation
- Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA)
- Conservation International
- Cooperativa Mista da Flona Tapajós (Coomflona)
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Brasil
- Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (Sebrae)
About the project
In 2017, together with two internationally renowned Brazilian designers, Leo Lattavo (Lattoog) and Zanini de Zanine (Studio Zanini), BVRio developed the foundations of the Design & Sustainable Wood Initiative. The aim was to enhance community forest management in the Amazon, adding value to residual FSC® Brazil certified wood from local timber furniture manufacturers to tackle illegal logging and slave labour whilst generating income and professional training for the local communities. For the designers, the initiative allowed them to use this noble raw material from legal, sustainable and socially-inclusive sources, promoting socio-environmental responsibility in high-end markets and raising awareness among consumers.
The partnership with Coomflona aimed to expand the talents and strengthen the capacities of community groups involved in sustainable forest management in the Anambé wood manufacture in Belterra, in the south of Pará. Designers provided training and shared their knowledge of new techniques of timber furniture and exclusive pieces design.
Connecting community forest management with markets that value sustainability
Watch now the documentary that marks the end of the first stage of the project. The documentary drafts poetically a portrait of the experience between the designers and cooperative members who both promote the green economy and respect for the forest.
“We, wood designers, always ask ourselves, what is the origin of this wood I am using?” Cláudia Moreira Salles, Designer
“We must explore diversity and not exhaust the species of wood that enter the market.” Fernando Mendes, Designer
Were produced and bought directly from communities
Joined the initiative to provide training to wood manufacture cooperatives
Creation of jobs and generation of income for the communities involved
Certificates for 36 young artisans
For the training in design and manufacture of wooden products with high added value
Extensive media coverage
Featured between 2019 and 2022 with dozens of stories on the national media, helping to raise awareness on the use of residual wood and tackling illegal logging in the Amazon
19 videos produced
Two of which are documentaries
2 international design shows
Pieces were exhibited in 2019 at Milan Design Week in Italy, which had over 380,000 visitors, and at Made, an international design fair held in São Paulo
5 certified wood trophies
Produced for three football championships in Brazil
Exhibition at international design fairs
The objects and furniture produced have been exhibited at two international fairs in 2019, at Milan Design Week, in Italy, and at MADE Latina in São Paulo, Brazil.
“When we get to the finished product, exhibited in a place of visibility like MADE in São Paulo, it shows the public that the union between the forest community and designers, with BVRio as a channeller, can produce positive results.” Carlos Motta, designer
Watch the video on the participation in MADE Latina.
Sustainable wooden trophies
In partnership with FSC® Brazil, the designers of the initiative created sustainable wooden trophies for two regional football championships in Brazil, intending to promote the responsible management of forests through football, giving visibility to the theme in the national media.
Ateliê Julia Krantz
Alessandra Delgado Design
Atelier Guido Guedes
Estúdio Paulo Alves
Atelier Fernando Mendes
Atelier Moreau Bueno
Cláudia Moreira Salles
Atelier Rodrigo Calixto