If all cacao were like this, the world would be different
The project
This work emerges from my relationship of more than five years with small farmers and agroforesters in Guapimirim (near Rio de Janeiro), from whom I buy fruits and vegetables such as açaí, palm, manioc, and cacao.
They cultivate everything without chemicals, respecting the ancestral knowledge of the forest and caring for the soil — and, consequently, for our health. Each fruit carries within it stories, memories, and ways of life that value diversity and the cycle of life.
The work Cacau is born from this encounter: transforming shapes, textures, and colors into sculptures that are also concrete gestures of regeneration. The sale of each piece funds the planting of trees in spring areas, supporting local families and regenerating water, soil, and life.
A single mold, reproduced many times, becomes a metaphor: showing that diversity is precious, while monoculture exhausts the land. Thus, each sculpture is both a poetic symbol and a transformative action.
The creative process
It all began when my friend Edimo, an agroforester, harvested a cacao from his plot. From this fruit, I made a plaster mold. Then, I used stoneware slip to fill it (by pouring).
The pieces were fired in a wood kiln, using a direct firing process — a natural method that revives ancient techniques. Some sculptures were fired with oxygen reduction, creating unique surface nuances.
This manual, almost ritualistic process conveys not only the strength of cacao but also the memory of ancestral methods of transforming clay into symbol.
The artwork
Each stoneware cacao sculpture is an invitation to regeneration: a symbol of food, diversity, income, and a living forest. To protect and showcase each piece, Instaart designed a custom wooden box with laser engraving and interior foam — the result of a partnership that unites art, design, and care.
Each work is numbered, signed, and accompanied by a certificate confirming your participation in reforestation: by acquiring a piece, you become a Partner of the Source, directly supporting the planting of young trees, the restoration of water, and the strengthening of agroforestry families — a living artwork that plants ideas and trees, an invitation to care for the earth, water, and people, and an investment in art with a real ecological and social impact.
Titre : Cacau, 2025
[If all cacao were like this, the world would be different]
Technique : Stoneware, wood-fired
Dimensions : 11 × 5 × 5 cm | 4 ⅓ × 2 × 2 in
Édition : Open (limited by the lifespan of the mold, usually between 30 and 50 pieces)
