The initiative taken by an Italian design and craft company a few years ago to allow it to offer jobs to various refugees from West Africa is incredible and very exemplary. Based in Berlin, this company goes by the name Cucula, what in an African country they would understand as Hausa and what Europeans have translated as “take care of each other”. And that is exactly what this company is doing with its job offer aimed exclusively at all these poor castaways on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

A valuable collection of limited edition chairs has now been born from the hands of this company. With 50 pine wood units, each of these exclusive chairs incorporates the island’s wreckage remains into its design material. The main characters in this collection are survivors of this event, for example: Maïga, Moussa, Ali, Saidou and Malik. Five who were ready to leave their homeland for a better life and are now advertising this collection of handmade chairs.

As seen in the photo, the chairs they are designed from primary structures and with core resources that accurately reflect the foundation from this collection and try to reflect democracy in the design: classic chairs for everyone. A very successful collection and quickly sold out since its launch, however, for the more curious, it should be noted that we can find some models at the Museum der Dinge in Berlin (Museum of Things).

There is a clear distinction between the handcrafted nature of the chairs in the use of the materials used as well as the shape of the final design: the assembly of carefully placed pieces and pieces of wood to make a seat and backrest. Overall, the design is attractive and personalized with a colorful touch on one of the wooden planks. The campaign has come a long way thanks to the fact that each of these five shaped chairs corresponds to the image of one of these five shipwrecks which, as we see, come back to life.

Photograph: cucula.org