Our Story
The founder Karin had the privilege of living in different countries and continents. Since most places she has called ‘home’ were in developing countries, she felt the need to get involved in community upliftment projects and skills development training.
While living in Southeast Asia, Karin had the opportunity to work with the local artisans, learn to speak their language, and appreciate their skills and knowledge.
“Mother Nature has gifted us with so much – if we use it wisely and sustainably, we don’t need to keep manufacturing similar man-made goods. In fact, people used to live like this long before plastic and synthetics came along,”
The aim is to make sustainable, natural strings available to conscious South Africans who wish to form part of the earth-friendly & slow living movement where custom-made practical items are fully compostable and 100% biodegradable.
Our Strings
- NO FACTORIES
- NO MACHINES
- NO EQUIPMENT
- NO IRRIGATION
- NO CULTIVATION
- NO CHEMICALS
- NO ELECTRICITY
“Life is as simple as we allow it to be.”
JungleVine®️
For centuries, the Khmu villagers in the remote areas of Northern Laos have been making a sturdy fiber from the carbon negative creeping plant – tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides), growing abundantly in the jungle.
The raw plant material is being sourced ethically – by foot – and the fiber is spun by hand to weave bags for collecting food or carrying the harvest to the fresh produce market. In later years, NatureBag started supporting this traditional initiative and Earth’s Greenest Bag™️ has since been sold worldwide.
An amazing green project – unaware and unaffected by the modern world outside their immediate environment, the Khmu artisans live in absolute harmony with nature. No cultivation, irrigation, or chemical treatment of this perennial vine is needed.
In 2020 Karin became the sole importer of the raw JungleVine®️ fiber to South Africa and has since trained local artisans in the Western Cape to create various eco-friendly products in the greenest way possible.
“What a huge privilege to help unemployed ladies earn a sustainable income while caring for their children at home. They too understand that slow living and clean beauty is important in helping to save our precious planet, and appreciate the fact that this sturdy natural fiber is carbon negative and even greener than hemp and cotton.”
Silk Beauty Cocoons
Add green to your routine!
The thriving – and already existing – silk textile industry in Southeast Asia has no use for the broken cocoons after the silkworm’s moth (Bombyx mori) emerges to lay her eggs. But since silk protein has so many skin-boosting benefits, these precise and gentle little exfoliators play a huge role in a skincare routine – they boost collagen, naturally.
The molecular structure of the natural silk proteins – fibroin and sericin – is similar to that of the collagen fibers that make up our skin. These beauty cocoons nourish, soothe and hydrate the skin, leaving your face luminous, smooth, and refreshed. It helps balance moisture levels, repairs skin cells, and helps coagulate and heal wounds. It further helps to increase skin elasticity, speeds up cell functioning, prevents wrinkles, and tightens the skin.
In short, Sericin forms a protective layer to promote hydration while Fibroin helps repair skin cells. Fibrous silk protein is a moisturizing, anti-aging miracle skincare ingredient that also enhances your overall radiance and glow – truly the superhero ingredient of skincare, in its most natural and sustainable form!
No wonder even around 3000 BC, Asian Princesses were the only ones allowed to benefit from its wondrous effects. Better skin elasticity, smoother appearance, improved skin metabolism while preventing wrinkles and sun damage.
Silk protein further consists of 18 amino acids, of which Firbroin contains a high percentage of glycine and alanine. In combination, these two acids are easily absorbed into the skin and are organically bound to skin cells, resulting in skin regeneration.
Silk production has a low carbon footprint and silk is fully compostable and 100% biodegradable.
Bottom line….our strings never see the inside of a factory! And yes, they can be disposed of with your garden refuse.
Our Artisans
