Fabiana Alcojor and Roberto Gerosa are the husband and wife team behind Seedling Designs, a design and production company driven by a robust environmentally-friendly ethos. Based in Kilifi on the Kenyan coast, Fabiana and Roberto and their team of makers design and produce light fixtures from the Baobab Tree's seedling pods.
How did you learn your craft / what inspired you to start?
We’re both trained architects with a strong eco-conscious soul and ethos. Living in Kenya with so many different cultures has taught us the importance of embracing different ways of thinking when interacting with people and objects in our daily lives. When we moved to Kenya from the UK, we fell in love with the beautiful and majestic Baobab Trees in Kilifi on the Kenyan coast. By the time we settled in Kilifi, our son was on the way, and our “new mission” was to create a space where he could grow up happily connected with nature.
What motivated you to take your craft and make it your career/hobby?
Seedling Designs was born from a passion for design and sustainability and to respond to the demand for eco-friendly affordable lighting products with a contemporary design. We wanted to fulfill our vision for a sustainable manufacturing sector and avoid using petrol-based components in our products; we looked at nature as a source of inspiration and raw materials. Baobab fruit pods are just the perfect solution for our designs.
What about your craft empowers you?
We love how our products connect people with nature and makers’ craft skills that bring them to life. It is exciting to offer our customers the opportunity to make more sustainable living choices by buying something that’s good for the environment and empowers the local communities at the same time.
Three words to describe how you feel when exercising/sharing your craft with others?
Connected
Creative
Alive
What is the biggest obstacle you have faced while creating your craft/practice?
To have a 100% plastic-free production. It is astonishing to realize how much our lifestyles depend on this material. From necessary components to some packaging, it’s challenging to find alternative solutions.
How do you live Ubuntu in your own life?
We are deeply connected with nature. Our manufacturing process allows us to be surrounded by natural raw materials. The workshop itself is an open space located on a beautiful plantation. We also believe in the power of the human touch, which creates a deep connection with our clients; our products are as much as possible handcrafted.
At Ubuntu Life, we love the style and encourage people to wear items that inspire them or make them feel confident. What are your favorite two things in your wardrobe that make you feel confident and/or the best version of yourself?
All the high-quality items have been produced by Kenyan design brands using locally sourced materials, empowering rural communities’ artisanal skills.
If you had a soundtrack for your life, what would be your theme song?
We can’t pick one song, but it would be energizing, happy, and inspiring a sense of freedom.
Finishing these sentences…
"I can't wait to ..."
visit all the 32 countries where Baobab trees are grown and to understand how local cultures interact with these incredible trees.
"When nobody is around I...."
paint.
"My favorite way to show LOVE is..."
to share my time.
