FEB31ST - OLAF - Kireka

Sustainability is the reason FEB31ST exists.
We wanted to show the world that other methods of eyewear manufacturing are possible—methods that help safeguard the future of our planet.

With the Kireka project, we have found a way to make the world’s most sustainable eyewear while also changing the lives of people less fortunate than ourselves.

We have joined the charity Meeting Point International, which is working on projects to rebuild communities and eliminate poverty in Uganda, a country that has suffered devastating atrocities such as political instability, serious diseases, kidnappings, and executions.

In a slum of Kampala, the Acholi women of Kireka, in their desperation to survive and protect their children, have found a way to harvest bark from the Ficus Natalensis tree. After a slow pummelling process with wooden mallets and a drying period, the bark transforms into a cloth material that can be traded like currency.

The harvested bark is shaved from the tree, but it regenerates every five years and can be farmed for approximately 40 years, after which the tree is allowed to enjoy its retirement in peace.

FEB31ST has agreed to purchase this incredible material to produce special edition eyewear—the most sustainable to date—which will help preserve the future of our planet while also enabling the community of Kireka to build schools and medical centers to protect the future of their children.

The children from Kireka also color the material with wildflower paint dye by throwing it around in random formations and often using their hands and feet to leave a little symbol of their involvement.

Producing this unique eyewear is possible without cutting down a single tree. As we say in Italy, “Un piccolo taglio di capelli”—just a little haircut.