Preserving native Mexican corn and Loofah through design
The work of London based, Mexican designer, Fernando Laposse serves as an inspiring example of collaborative and synergetic design practice. The historical and cultural significance of materials, as well as their environmental implications, and connection with local communities is taken into account, in every part of the process. Fernando is used to working with overlooked plant fibers such as sisal, loofah and corn husks. The material chosen for each project is essentially linked to a particular locality and its residents; aiming to create local opportunities and raise awareness about the struggles and challenges they face.
With one of his projects, entitled Totomoxtle, Fernando aims to reinvigorate traditional Mexican agricultural practices by creating interior products made with husks of heirloom Mexican corn. The project hopes to create a new craft that would provide income for impoverished farmers, as well as promoting the preservation of biodiversity for future food security. Working together with a group of families from the region since 2016, the husks collected from the harvest are transformed by a group of local women into the veneering material, creating local employment opportunities. Using a simple and environmentally friendly procedure, the husks are ironed flat and glued onto a paper pulp or textile backing, this is then used in Fernando’s designs. This practice provides a clear example of the importance of having a transparent connection between those who plant the seed, to grow into the material, and the creators/artists/designers. It also emphasizes the relevance of regenerative agricultural practices and traditional knowledge, highlighting the value of keeping alive old traditions and methods.
According to Fernando, the only hope for saving the heirloom species of Mexican corn lies with the indigenous people, for they are the ones who continue to plant it out of tradition, rather than financial gain. Indigenous people across the world continuously fight to preserve vital traditions and practices that are intrinsically linked to sustainable development. Projects like Fernando’s prove that there is a way humanity can cooperate to find a more integrated and greener world.
In another of Fernando's projects, entitled Lufa Series, the designer explores the possibilities of Loofa - a fruit found on a tropical climbing vine, also known as “the sponge cucumber”. The dried fruit creates a network of interlacing fibers that are commonly used as bath sponges, but not for much else. Through exploration and tests, the project aims to produce different objects with the material; analyzing various qualities of the fibers, such as lightness, translucency, heat insulation, texture, shock absorption, and others. By demonstrating the material’s possibilities, and researching its potentiality, there is new significance and value to the Luffa plant. This is shown in the creation of more diverse objects in this collection; such as a room divider, a daybed, a table, a lamp, some vases/bowls and an armor.
The resurrection of the long forgotten plant fibers is an extremely important step towards a more sustainable and regenerative world. We tend to stick to what we know - cotton, flax and hemp. But there are thousands of unique plant fibers across our planet that can provide us with different qualities and solutions. Keeping an open mind, and continuing research on the variety of useful fibers, can ultimately lead us to a larger diversity of plants in fields - which is closely connected to a more biodiverse environment. Fernando has worked extensively with overlooked fibers - sisal, corn husks, loofah - which can certainly serve as an inspiration to all young designers out there. So let's keep our eyes open for new opportunities forgotten plant fibers can provide, and maybe they can have whole new significance in the world.
Eduarda Bastian is a practice-based researcher, writer and explorer from Brazil. By sharing her experience with natural materials and plant fibres, she aims to raise awareness about the power of a nurtured and symbiotic relationship with Nature and disseminate the important role ancestral knowledge can have in our search for sustainability.
Lena Frain-Atallah is a London based Editor and Records Management student. With a History background, she is passionate about publishing works that explore local and marginalized communities. With an eye on the past, Lena is looking to explore ideas of creating a more sustainable way of living for our future. Available for editorial and research-based projects.