Colombian Furniture Maker Fango Takes on Deforestation

Fango Design Studio founder Francisco Jaramillo with his Ibuju Collection

I’ll admit it: I’m a total Colombophile. My love affair with all things Colombian started with my husband and was sealed by a decade of trips to Bogotá. Over the years, I’ve come to admire not just Colombian culture and cuisine, but also how Colombia's kind and generous people, lush landscapes, artisanal craft, and richly layered traditions are deeply intertwined—especially in its art and design scene.

Those influences converge beautifully in the work of Francisco Jaramillo, founder and creative director of Medellín-based Fango Design Studio. Launched in 2017 and rooted in the idea of exploring the connection among “man, context, and object,” Fango works closely with local artisans and materials to create furniture that tells a story.

One standout example is the Ibuju collection, crafted from yaré—a rapidly renewable woody vine, harvested by indigenous communities in the Amazon without cutting down trees. Discovered through collaborations with local artisans, the fiber became a way for Francisco to address deforestation through design.

Drawing on indigenous Amazonian aesthetics, the collection includes tables, benches, and stools, all woven by artisans outside Medellín. While the pieces resemble traditional wood furniture, yaré offers a regenerative alternative that directly addresses deforestation in the Amazon. “I reference furniture that could have been made from wood,” Francisco says, “but is now created from a fiber that depends on the very tree that might otherwise be felled.”

With Ibuju, Fango highlights the urgency of environmentally conscious material choices while honoring Colombian craft. “The objective of this collection is to document and make visible… the importance of using local resources responsibly,” Francisco says. This collection reflects the responsibility designers share in raising awareness around Colombia’s fragile ecosystems and offers proof that beautiful design can be deeply conscientious as well.

—Danine Alati