2025
Unique Work Material: yaré fiber

@studio__fango

Dividing his time between Medellin and Barcelona, Fango founder Francisco Jaramillo devotes his practice to crafting objects that respond to the pressing topics of our day. Working hand in hand with local artisans, he explores the potential of local materials and craft techniques to address social and environmental challenges.

His latest, unique work, debuting at Crafting Community, continues the studio’s exploration of yaré, a renewable fiber derived from vines that grow in the Colombian Amazon. The fibers have historically been used by local indigenous communities for weaving. Concerned by indiscriminate logging and overuse of native woods from the jungle, and the social implications on local communities, Jaramillo’s design explores yaré’s versatility. Formally, the new work emulates the natural growth pattern of yaré, and its movement in the forest as the vines twist and turn.

“Only Indigenous Amazonian communities are invited to enter into the jungle to harvest these protected vines,” Jaramillo notes. “They’ve passed down information over generations, and they know when the plant is ready to be cut, and the right way to cut it. Why would we blindly cut trees, or use a material like rattan, which we must transport from elsewhere to consume, when we can respectfully use a material that’s already here?”