Inhabitat has made a habit of highlighting amazing products which integrate the life cycle of a plant into its design. There’s the plantable tablethat invites nature to dinner, the plantable coffee cup that restores local flora, the plantable tiles for building green walls, and the plantable cards about cake that grow edible flowers to be baked into an actual cake. Now, for the next installment of “Things That Are Things But Also Can Be Planted,” we have a book about trees that also can be planted to grow an actual tree.
Published by the Argentinian company Pequeño Editor in partnership with FCB Buenos Aires, Mi Papá Estuvo en la Selva (My Father Was in the Jungle) is written and illustrated by Gusti and Anne Decis. The book is aimed at children between eight and twelve years old, young people who will inherit this planet and its natural wonders in the not-so-far future. The story is told from the perspective of a young boy who describes his father’s adventures in the jungles of Ecuador. Based on a true story, the book intends to teach the reader to care for the natural world not simply in the abstract, but by empowering them to take direct action by planting a book to grow a tree.
Related: DIY: Sweet plantable valentines made from recycled paper
The book is printed with “ecological” ink and on acid-free paper, which is packed with jacaranda seeds. These seeds emerge as the pages decompose in the soil. Jacaranda is a genus of flowering plants found throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and has been introduced to other subtropical and tropical locations around the world. The plant is often grown for its aesthetic appeal, though some varieties are valued for its wood, which is used to make guitars in Brazil. To promote the book, Argentinian bookstores have displayed germinated copies in their store fronts to demonstrate the power and promise of the plantable book.
Via PSFK
Images via Pequeño Editor