Story of Navi Rope Lamps: Community, Recycling and Social Responsibility

Navi's spirit comes from the motivation to re-use and renew cast-off ship ropes and create a continuous livelihood for a local recycling community. We speak to our Navi lamp designer Paula Rodriguez about how the hidden nautical gem lights up lives.

"NAVI uses reclaimed marine rope - discarded ship ropes from large boats and vessels that frequently dock in Cebu, Philippines", Paula explains. "From these disposed ropes, local communities saw an opportunity to recycle and create a source of revenue for their families. This novelty nylon rope is hidden within the huge ship ropes and despite the worn-out exterior, the unexposed rope inside is silky but durable, and in great shape."

The story of Navi began when Mrs. Diosdada, a lovely and passionate entrepreneur, decided to make a livelihood out of recycling ropes from nearby shipping areas. After 40 years in the recycling business, Mrs. Diosdada now has children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and a community that is benefiting from all her efforts.

Together, this community recovers all weather ropes in many sizes and colors. After segregating and cleaning, these ropes are dried and twisted into smaller bundles for Mrs. Diosdada and her family to sell in the local market. Commonly sold to fishermen and farmers, the ropes are meshed into fishnets or used for assorted household farming equipment.

Let's travel to the coast and immerse in life at the dry-docks, shall we? Peer into this nostalgic video produced by Livable Products, cool folks who use Navi ropes in their ROPE hope project. It is our joy to find people like them who live meaningful, who share our dream of reducing waste and creating jobs.

Being their first customer in the furniture industry, Paula relays to us that "Navi's recycling community is very much thrilled to promote the reclaimed rope material in a new light as well as to continue to provide for all the families relying on this eco-conscious business." We recently gained the support of Top World Tennis Player Rafael Nadal and Fundación Rafa Nadal for the Recycling Community.

Navi is inspired by the nature of where the material comes from – Life at Sea. It gives the essence of time spent relaxing by the ocean to the sound of the waves.

Navi Collection takes on a new look and ingenuity to outdoor furniture material. It embodies skilled Filipino weaving, environmental awareness, and social responsibility. Our skilled craftsmen weave these reclaimed ropes into net-like patterns over a wire frame, creating this award-winning eco-friendly collection.

There is something more personal and intimate about anything hand-crafted. Navi is not only a perfect example of this, but it proves that in a world where almost everything is mechanized, an honest and human story is more valuable.