Bárbara Amaral Pirarucu Bag
The Pirarucu, also known as Arapaima, is a freshwater fish from the Amazon rainforest that can grow up to three and a half meters long and weigh approximately one hundred to two hundred kilograms. It is caught by local people, known as ribeirinhos.
Since colonial times, Pirarucu’s meat has been a part of the local diet and is still negotiated to the food industry. A curiosity is that in Colonial Brazil, Jesuit priests kept Pirarucu salted not only to preserve its meat (as there was no refrigeration at that time) but also to sell it disguised as codfish in Portuguese markets. With the increase in the amazonian population, the consumption of this fish increased even more, almost leading to its extinction. Currently, this fish is raised in captivity, which protects the specie and generates jobs and incomes for the local population. (Ferdinandodesousa (2021)).
Throughout the text, we will better understand how this formidable fish is managed and the methods for its preservation, emphasizing that today Pirarucu’s meat is no longer sold as fake codfish but as a delicious fish from the Amazon.
The Pirarucu’s skin has a rigid and, at the same time, flexible structure, being able to absorb external impacts very well, making it extremely resistant. On the other hand, its particular and imposing aesthetics are striking and have been increasingly used by designers, being used to produce many products, from accessories and clothing to furniture and decorative objects.
For years, this skin was discarded (the meat, otherwise, has been consumed for a long time) and after some studies it was possible to reuse it and use it, being transformed into a valuable luxury product. In 2017, this skin won an award for innovative materials at the Première Vision Paris. (Barcellos, T. (2021)).
The Pirarucu’s skin can achieve a more sustainable cycle than other types of skin for the following reasons: a) it helps the local population (ribeirinhos) to have a better livelihood, b) its fishing is controlled by IBAMA (the Brazilian agency that cares for the fauna and flora in Brazil), c) it enables an organic dyeing, d) with its use, no waste is released into the planet and e) it is biodegradable. We will discuss each of these topics in the following paragraphs.
Amazon fisherman(Bioleather: Brazil (no date) NOVA KAERU).
The Beginning of the studies
The company Nova Kaeru, located in Rio de Janeiro, is a company that studies and manufactures various types of skin. Eduardo Figueiras, the founder, began his studies with frogs. At the time he worked in a frog farm to sell the meat and realized that the use of its skin was also possible, instead of being discarded, turning it into frog leather. In the same way, together with a scientist and an Amazon fisherman, he noticed that it was possible to use Pirarucu’s skin, provided it was removed from the fish with a certain technique that did not damage it, making it possible to use it. (Maisonnave, F. (2022a)).
Therefore, Nova Kaeru initiated a project with indigenous people and ribeirinhos to show the added value generated by this skin, teaching them the best techniques and training them for this work, with the goal of providing it to tanneries.
This attitude increased the source of income for this population that has its survival linked to this fish (meat for consumption) and that, with the use of the skin, began to have more this source of resources.
In 2007, the brazilian brand Osklen began to use the leather in its collections, being one of the pioneers in Brazil to use this material and continues to study it together with the Instituo-E (Civil Society Organization for Public Interest), a non-profit entity that focuses on sustainable development. Out of Brazil this leather has already been used by international brands such as Rick Owens, Burberry and Salvatore Ferragamo. (Campos, C.-S. (2017)).
In addition, the first exports of Pirarucu’s leather were to the state of Texas, in the USA, where it is used to make cowboy boots. More recently in New York it was used by the brand Piper & Skye in bags of various sizes and styles. (Maisonnave, F. (2022)).
Fish skin handling (Bioleather: Brazil (no date) NOVA KAERU).
Local population
As already mentioned, the Pirarucu skin, which was initially discarded, is now being used, bringing improvements to the lives of many people who depends on the fishing of Pirarucu. The population of the Amazon’s region often has a simple and vulnerable life and the Pirarucu’s skin has tripled the income of this population, being thus currently of great significance. The Instituto-E (already mentioned) takes care of visiting these regions regularly to ensure that the population is receiving the appropriate income for the sale of this skin.
Sustainable management
All marketed skin must come from captive breeding or management regulated by IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) which supervises from the landing of the Pirarucu to its commercialization. This inspection is carried out by checking the invoice that must be issued by the producers. In addition, each skin within this management plan comes with a seal and a control number indicating its origin, so, all skin purchased must have an invoice indicating that it has observed the correct regulation. (Publicidade, W. (no date)).
There is a specific time for fishing Pirarucu, which is from August to the end of November. During the breeding season of the species, fishing is prohibited, so it is a seasonal skin for sale. In addition, there is a quota for this fishing, it is allowed up to 30% leaving the other 70% remaining to protect the reproduction of the species and avoid its extinction. In this way, IBAMA distributes a certain amount of seals taking into account this fishing quota and tanneries sell these skins with seals to consumers. (Ana Flávia Castro (no date)).
Amazon Population (Ribeirinha) - Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Brail Agency
Tinting
The Pirarucu’s skin has a huge range of colors, being always timeless. The painting of the skin is done organically, it’s metal-free tanning and this is one of the great advantages that this leather has when compared to ordinary leather.
Nova Kaeru has a dyeing process called L.I.V.E., which is based on a procedure that is "100% free of harmful chemicals to the environment such as nanoparticles, synthetic dyes and artificial fragrances" (Bioleather: Brazil (no date)). Furthermore, alternatives such as biodegradable resins, vegetable tannins or natural aniline dyeing are used, which reduces the environmental impact, and these methods are also safer for the health of people who work in the tannery.
If discarded, this leather takes only 120 days to decompose in the environment. As a final result, it is possible to obtain various and vibrant colors, and, in addition, some dyeing work can be done to create interesting effects with two colors on the skin. Beyond dyeing, to achieve authenticity in the skin, it is possible to treat the scales, differentiating one skin from another, as in the example below where the scales were turned up, providing another effect to the skin, making it more exclusive. (GABRIEL, L.C. (2017)).
Because it is a highly resistant material, its durability is long, for this reason many sustainable brands add timeless design to products made with Pirarucu’s skin, making it a long-lasting product and thus generating less waste.
Painted Pirarucu’s leather (Bioleather: Brazil (no date) NOVA KAERU).
As we have seen, the skin of the Pirarucu can form a circular chain (no waste) without polluting the environment. This is evident in its fishing (controlled management), in the social benefits generated for the people who depend on it to survive, in the ease of dyeing through methods that are not harmful to health and the environment and in the long durability and the disposal and biodegradation, making it a great alternative for designers, in addition to presenting a unique characteristic that is its texture and authenticity, elevating not only the aesthetic level of the products but also their quality, culminating in luxury products.
Turning fish into leather is a beautiful art not just for its aesthetics but for the world sustainability. (Hakai Magazine (no date) The art of turning fish into leather, Hakai Magazine.)
Bárbara Amaral Pirarucu Bag
Bárbara Amaral Pirarucu Bag
Bárbara Amaral Pirarucu Bag
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