Over the last two centuries, Mauritius’ natural forests have been demolished to make way for sugar cane fields. Today, of the 259 sugar cane factories that existed on the island in 1858, only a handful remains. 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 since disappeared.
Protecting nature and reducing threats to the diversity of life are at the top of the agenda. The government of Mauritius is in a quest to save the rare forests and endemic species from extinction. Certain conservation projects have even been successfully completed: the creation of the Black River Gorges National Park in 1994, and the initiation of protection measures for Ile aux Aigrettes and Île Ronde. Other associations, like the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation established in 1984, are still firmly fighting against the disappearance of endangered birds and plants.
One of Cypraea’s goals is to support these local environmental associations—notably Reef Conservation and Mauritian Wildlife—in their fight to preserve the island’s natural heritage. With this in mind, a percentage of Cypraea’s sales will fund these associations and help perpetuate our one-of-a-kind heritage.
Our Naturae Collection is an ode to the endemic nature of Mauritius. The pieces in this collection—Foliae, Mangrovia, Pieter Both, Barks—all celebrate the unicity of the island’s flora and geological features through the use of pure materials such as solid walnut wood, stone, lava stone, coral stone, marble, glass…
