Jatobá - the Rainforest Club logo tree

When I arrived in Murineli in November 2023, everything was new to me. Usually, I visited Andreia and Florian in Rio de Janeiro. We enjoyed the urban surroundings, especially the Santa Teresa neighborhood.

Now, I was in the middle of pastures, cattle, forest and bugs. Half of the roads were dirt roads and our conversations shifted from urban life -favelas, city beaches and neighborhoods- to farming, plants and trees. It was like stepping into another world, and I was in full learning mode. Nearly everything I heard was new and we made it a point to visit similar projects, forest nurseries, and farms to deepen our understanding of the region.

This trip to Viveiro da Mata Atlântica, a nursery in Nova Friburgo specializing in native Mata Atlântica trees, stands out as one of the most memorable experiences of my early days. We met Marina, the owner, who warmly welcomed us into her world of native plants and trees, sharing deep stories about the region's rich biodiversity. One story, in particular, caught my attention—just listen for yourself:

Introducing: Jatobá by Marina from Viveiro da Mata Atlântica

Stunning. What a cute little plant, a leave growing right out of the seed, which sits on a stalk. It will eventually turn into a dense, valuable, hardwood, preferably used in constructions, resistant to weathering, rot and insect infestation, even fire. In the Mata Atlântica there is a huge variation of species and some can be found in different biomes of the planet. In our region, Jatobá (Hymenaea courbaril), the species can reach up to 20 meters in height, its fruiting usually takes place from July to October. It can be consumed by both humans and wildlife, and the tree boasts medicinal properties. Teas are made from its leaves and bark, while its fruit is used to make cakes and other delicacies that aid in treating gastrointestinal and respiratory issues, as well as promoting wound healing. The tree sap is also used to treat coughs and bronchitis. How versatile! I wanted the Rainforest Club to be as versatile.

At night I reflected my day and started some sketches during our nightly conversations at the kitchen table. The sketches turned into more and evolved into our Rainforest Club logo idea.

The diamond was initially considered as the basic structure of our logo but was quickly recognized as the rhombus in the Brazilian flag. This led to the definition of the color theme for our logo.

The night ended that day and the logo development, too, as we did not intend to develop a logo that night.

Long after I returned from Brazil, in March 2024, I contacted a designer threw some input over the fence, such as the drawings above, the color theme, our project idea and I received the first drafts of our logo. Eventually, after some iterations, I settled on the first version. A second version was created with minor adjustments and we landed at the logo design, today.

May this logo influence our project to plant many new Jatobá trees, a tree that can live for more than 100 years, implying the longevity of the Rainforest Club.

Cheers, Thomas 🌳