A pioneer in crafting artisanal and sustainable lights, Oorjaa’s ethos is anchored firmly in the concept of
sustainability. Their collections pay homage to artisanal craftsmanship and take inspiration from nature. The brand’s veritable range of lamps and lighting fixtures are made of waste like banana fibre, lokta fibre, stone quarry dust and waste cork. Jenny Pinto, founder and design director, Oorjaa Lighting Design says, “At Oorjaa, we go beyond just sustainable and natural materials, we actually use waste. Our signature material, the handmade paper, is made from agri waste, mainly banana fibre. It is an incredibly strong and silky fibre that gives us strong paper that looks beautiful when lit up, so they are perfect for lights. Then we also developed a new material using quarry dust waste combined with paper waste. It gives us this material that looks like concrete. It has been trending for a while. That is our Wabi-Sabi range. We also use waste cork from the cork industry and now lantana, which is our newest material.”
Lantana is an invasive weed and threatens almost all wildlife reserves in Central and South India. It is very difficult to get rid of and impacts wildlife movement and availability of food. Because it is so tenacious, it is also a tough material and quite beautiful and versa-tile. Right now, it is Oorjaa’s new passion project. “We just installed sculptures and lights at the new terminal in the Bengaluru airport. We also try to follow a zero waste policy. We recycle water, do not plastic, even in packaging, and do things as much as possible by hand, which saves energy and creates jobs,” says Pinto.
Oorja, as a brand, is committed to continue the path of sustainability and is constantly looking for new waste materials that they can work with. “Lantana right now needs a lot of back-end work with supply chains, economies and linkages with tribal organisations because it is a material from forest /wildlife reserves. We’re hoping things get a little less easier,” says Pinto.