MANI
Amsterdam - São Paulo
2024 - present
Stuff is all around us
The furniture in our homes, the packaging that wraps our food, the garments touching our skin, the bicycle we ride to work. All of these things are made from materials. In our market-driven global economy, the climate crisis has also become a material crisis. Fueled by the pursuit of infinite growth, we have become excessively reliant on materials derived from extractive, polluting, and finite resources. Our times demand radical change, and the path forward may lie in the wisdom of our ancestors.
For centuries, and in some cases millennia, Indigenous peoples and traditional rural communities have lived in harmony with nature, mastering the art of adapting to and designing with their environments. Their knowledge, carefully passed down through generations, has been a cornerstone of resilience in times of crisis. Often dismissed as primitive or rudimentary, this deep connection to natural resources holds invaluable lessons for those of us in urban, modern settings, offering a blueprint for reimagining the materials that surround us and making thoughtful, future-proof choices.
As a creative professional, I am driven by the opportunity to contribute to the fight against the climate crisis by developing alternatives to fossil fuel-based materials. My goal is to design biomaterials that challenges some of the current culprits in our daily lives, such as single-use plastic packaging. I showcase these biomaterials as a means to learn from and amplify the stories of Brazilian traditional communities, sharing their struggles and shining a light on their ancestral ecological knowledge and heritage.
This research seeks to unite traditional ecological knowledge with modern biomaterial innovation, paving the way for a more resilient and inclusive future.
I invite the Manihot esculenta (Cassava, Manioc or Yuca) as a main research participant to represent both the material research and the ancient knowledge of the traditional communities
Biomaterial made out of cassava starch
Project Overview & Context
MANI is a project rooted in curiosity, culture, and the hope for better futures. It began in 2024 and is still in its early research phase - an unfolding journey shaped by two deeply personal pillars: my passion for biomaterial design and my Brazilian heritage.
With MANI, I’m driven by a sense of responsibility and creative urgency, to imagine and propose more optimistic pathways for how we might coexist with each other and the planet.
The project received support from the Creative Industries Fund NL, which enabled the first phase of research and exploration. This stage involved reaching out to a range of experts and collaborators through informal interviews and co-creation sessions, most of which took place online or in The Netherlands. Additional support came from Waag’s TextileLab, offering access to their facilities for material experimentation, development, and valuable knowledge mentorship.
Then, in December 2024, a long-awaited moment arrived: I traveled to Brazil and finally met some of the people I had been connecting with virtually. One of them was Robson Dias Possidonio, a fisherman from Paraty, a coastal town nestled between the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, surrounded by the lush remnants of the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest). Robson plays a vital role in preserving the cultural memory and traditional practices of the region’s communities.
These in-person encounters brought new layers of insight and emotion to the project. The video at the top of the page captures part of this experience, and below I share some of the key reflections and learnings that emerged from these exchanges.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
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Regenerative Futures
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Storytelling
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Biomaterial Design
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Decolonial Design
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Traditional Ecological Knowledge • Regenerative Futures • Storytelling • Biomaterial Design • Decolonial Design •
A visit to the roça
Roça is a Portuguese word that carries the weight of soil, sweat, and memory. Etymologically, it comes from the verb roçar - to clear the land, to cut back the forest, to make space for life to grow. But roça is more than just a cultivated field.
It is a living system: part garden, part forest, part home. In rural Brazil, especially within traditional communities, the roça is where seeds are planted and stories are told. It is where cassava takes root, corn reaches upward, and generations pass down their knowledge of planting, harvesting, and coexisting with the rhythms of nature.
The roça is built on collective care. It feeds families not only with food, but with meaning. It is a space of autonomy, of tradition, of resistance and above all, of deep relationship with the land. In every cleared plot lies a quiet revolution: an act of renewal, a reclaiming of balance between human hands and the living earth.
In the video, I share a glimpse of what the crops looked like in December 2024, in Sertão do Ubatumirim, Ubatuba - still young, with plenty of time to grow. Ana Rosa, Agrício, and Baeco were the kindest hosts, generously guiding us through the land and sharing a part of their knowledge, deeply rooted in place and tradition.
Cassava roots harvest by Baeco
Farinhada in Almada
Flour-making from cassava is a millennia-old tradition in Brazil.
For generations, Indigenous peoples of the Amazon have carefully selected, cultivated, and transformed this once-toxic root into a safe and nourishing staple. Through deep ecological knowledge and careful observation, they developed techniques to detoxify cassava - both through selective breeding and processing - and managed to extract a wide range of products from it. The most well-known is cassava flour, a vital base for daily sustenance.
Today, Brazil is home to hundreds of cassava varieties, adapted to diverse climates and soils across all states. Easy to grow and resilient, cassava remains a cornerstone of food security and a living expression of cultural heritage - carrying ancestral knowledge that continues to be passed down through generations.
I had the pleasure of witnessing this living tradition firsthand on a warm December day, gathered at the home of Maneco on Almada Beach in Ubatuba, São Paulo - where, together with a group of amazing and generous locals (Robson, Edilei, Maneco, Paula, Maia e Dona Maria), we spent the entire day making flour, just as it has been done for centuries.
Recently harvested cassava roots
The cassava roots are then manually peeled to remove the tough outer skin
The peeled roots are thoroughly washed and then grated, turning the root into a moist pulp
The peeled roots are thoroughly washed and then grated, turning the root into a moist pulp
The grated pulp is placed in a press to extract its liquid
The pressed pulp is then crumbled and sieved to separate fibrous material, creating a coarse, even meal
The meal is toasted in a large metal pan over fire, continuously stirred with a spatula until it becomes dry, golden, and crisp. This step defines the texture and flavor of the final farinha.
The process lasts all day, from morning until sunset. At the end, the fresh flour is portioned into small bags and shared, carrying a taste of care, tradition, and collective love home with everyone.
Maneco’s Garden of Varieties
A small collection of dried leaves from the different cassava varieties found exclusively at Maneco’s home on Almada Beach, on the northern coast of São Paulo state. Each variety can be recognized by distinct features such as leaf shape, color, plant height, and other subtle characteristics. These differences also determine the root’s level of toxicity - some can be safely eaten after simple boiling, while others must be processed into flour to become safe for consumption.
This first phase of experimentation explored a range of biomaterial samples with varying levels of flexibility, surface textures, and translucency - each revealing potential for different applications in design and everyday use.
Test Phase: Biomaterial Research
As part of MANI, I’ve been exploring how cassava starch - a humble and abundant ingredient - can be transformed into new materials. Using it as the main biopolymer, I began developing a series of early recipes that result in a material with a surprising resemblance to plastic: smooth, glossy, translucent, and flexible.
While its fully biodegradable nature is one of its strengths, it also poses a challenge: the material struggles with water and heat resistance, limiting its durability. This tension between fragility and sustainability has become a central question in the process. To address it, I began experimenting with natural additives like agar, derived from seaweed, and eggshell powder, rich in calcium carbonate. These blends create firmer, more stable biocomposites, opening up possibilities for molded or rigid applications.
Each trial is a quiet collaboration between natural elements and intentional design - an attempt to imagine materials that are not only sustainable, but meaningful and rooted in place.
Special Mentions & Credits
Photos by Beatriz Sandini
Video by Beatriz Sandini and Bruno Sandini
Project Collaborators in Brazil: Robson Dias Possidônio, Edilei Soares, Manoel Santino dos Santos, Ana Rosa dos Santos & Agrício Neri Barbosa Junior, Mailza Rosa, Manuel Baeco, Paula, and Dona Maria
Guides, Co-creators & Collaborators: Itiana Pasetti, Dr. Fabio de Castro, Beto Bina, Luciana Pires
Lab support and creative guidance provided by Waag Futurelab
This project was made possible with support from the Creative Industries Fund NL
