Kakaw Leather: Cahoy Table

Category: Furniture

Kakaw Leather is a sustainable leather alternative made from cacao waste, specifically pod husks and bean shells. It is machine-stitchable, edge-burnishable for a polished finish, and exhibits a degree of water resistance—making it a viable material for industries to experience luxury through waste. Kakaw Leather pays homage to the Philippines-- honoring the fruit, the farmers and the heritage behind it. It showcases the Philippines a force capable of transforming waste into a material with value, reclaiming cultural and economic agency in the global chocolate narrative. Kakaw Leather has been tested on a side table I have entitled Cahoy. This word comes from Cacao and Kahoy, which means wood in Cebuano. It features a minimal design, attached only through dado joints and features a patch of Kakaw Leather in the middle of the tabletop with aqua blue stitching to give it a pop of color.