No matter how you observe it, the holiday season is all about miracles and light. Unfortunately that desire doesn’t dissipate once January rolls around. In fact, if you live in the Northeast like me, we still have to get through the coldest, darkest part of winter.
Coming to the rescue direct from France, meet CASAGAMI — which not only provides light, it does so sustainably.
Founder Marc Lebas began his career creating decorative objects for a major online retailer. For the most part, these were manufactured in Asia, and over time Marc became concerned about the environmental harm resulting from their materials (mostly plastics) as well the waste, energy consumption and pollution resulting from their production, shipping, usage and discard.
Then, in the early 2000s, as Marc watched his two young daughters grow, he became increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of raising them. The mountains of plastic waste and the growing disconnect with nature — these realities also spurred Marc to action.
Marc wondered if a product could transmit the values of sustainable development and convey a positive message to the younger generation regarding our planet’s future. In the digital age, with tons of waste to handle, what purpose could a new tangible object serve? Enter CASAGAMI.
These light-filled houses are shipped flat and made of kraft cardboard. Best of all, they are illuminated by solar energy, courtesy of a tiny solar panel on each wee roof.
While some venues — such as the Van Gogh and Bauhaus museums and Librairie Mollat in Bordeaux — have created custom CASAGAMI, these eco-friendly creations are stocked in science museums, bookstores, concept stores and museum shops across Europe.
“There’s a house for most of the French regions, some countries, collaboration with artists, white models to be decorated, Paris “retro style” buildings … our CASAGAMI are pretty versatile and the concept has endless interpretations,” the company’s Emmanuelle Mesnard wrote me.
LITOGAMI is CASAGAMI’s parent company — and it has also created the AUTOGAMI, a DIY cardboard car powered by solar energy, as well as CITIGAMI, greeting cards that light up courtesy of solar energy.
For now, you can pick up a house of your very own in their Etsy shop — and if you are a retailer wanting to be one of the first American venues to illuminate your store, start stocking your shop here.
