FOREST LAB
Piloting a material agro-ecosystem
PROJECT INTRO
Across the tropical Americas, cattle ranching has become the single largest driver of deforestation. Forests are cleared for pasture or soy cultivation, soils are stripped of fertility, and biodiversity declines. The ecological and social consequences ripple outward - affecting water systems, climate resilience, biodiversity and cultural life.
Forest Lab emerges as a response to this cycle of loss. The project explores how degraded landscapes can be reimagined as regenerative systems: places that restore ecological health with emphasis on supporting native wildlife, while producing materials for human use.
The idea grew from early encounters in Nicaragua, where abandoned pastures were being converted into productive timber farms - primarily cultivating non-native Teak. While inspiring, such models revealed their limits when they relied on monocultures that often do not support local wildlife. The question followed: what would it mean to ‘design’ a forest that is diverse, rooted in place and that provides an array of materials that can be cultivated as alternative incomes for local communities?
In 2023, this inquiry found a home at ArteSumapaz in Cundinamarca, Colombia - a 200-acre cultural and ecological sanctuary situated within a corridor connecting the Andes to the Amazon. Here, several initiatives are taking shape, including the Material Forest, a 10-acre polyculture of native plants chosen for their ecological and material qualities; and the Plant Lab, a small structure designed for residencies, and experiments with plant-based material resources such as fibers, dyes, oils and timber. Together, they form the foundation of Forest Lab.
This is a long-term work in progress, and we’ll update this page as we develop the project. Our first step has been research into species suitable for the Material Forest, initiated through Restor’s ecological database. By mapping the native biodiversity of Cundinamarca, we identified over 800 species, with 500 suited to ArteSumapaz’s elevation and climate. Each has been studied for its material potential, ecological role and to a lesser extent, medicinal uses, and edibility. Below you view and download this research.
This groundwork has been supported by students at Parsons School of Design with valuable support from former students Dinneth Espinoza and Reynaldo Veliz, and major contributions from Andre Amores in Bogotá.
FIELD GUIDES
Three field guides: The first showcases our overall research of over 800 species native Cundinamarca. The second field guide highlights species with material and ecological qualities and that specifically thrive around 1400-1600 masl. while the third is a work-in-progress guide showcasing species that currently grow on the grounds of ASP. Please note that the preview mode does not always allow for viewing spreads, only single sheets, so we recommend downloading the files once they have loaded in preview. Several guides are large and take time to load.
