Capim Dourado

Capim dourado is a wild sedge that grows in the wetlands of the Jalapão. Its stem dries to a metallic gold that reads as brass under light, and it can be coiled, bound and stitched with buriti fibre into jewellery and accessories.

Harvest is legally restricted to a window each September, after the plants have seeded. The rule is not a formality: it is what has kept the species and the craft in existence simultaneously, and communities police it themselves.

The material's fragility governs everything downstream. Pieces cannot be pressed flat for shipping, humidity changes handling, and no two stems take a bind identically.

Brands that work with capim dourado successfully treat it as a jewellery supply chain rather than a textile one — small lots, named ateliers, and a design brief written after the first sample, not before.