Naturae

Mauritius’ natural forests have been sacrificed over the last two centuries to make space for sugar cane fields. Of the 259 sugar cane factories that existed on the island in 1858, only a handful remain. Sugar production, which used to be one of the island’s economy pillars, was replaced by tourism—an equal contributor to the loss of the island’s natural heritage.

Today, after just a little more than 400 years of human settlement, only 2% of the original forests remains. Many endemic animal and plant species have disappeared. The government of Mauritius is in a quest to save the rare forests and endemic species from extinction, with the creation of the Black River Gorges National Park in 1994, and the initiation of protection measures for Ile aux Aigrettes and Île Ronde.

One of Cypraea’s goals is to help sustain local environmental associations for the preservation of the island’s natural environment. Naturae collection is an ode to the endemic nature of Mauritius. The pieces that are included in this collection, all celebrate the unicity of the island flora and blend with nature like they were always there.