Tribu products are created from natural materials. We search the world for the best sources in order to ensure the very finest quality and highest standards for each material.
Coconut
varies
in colour from a yellow-beige through mid and dark browns to almost black;
often shot through with lighter or darker colours. The colour variation
relates to the stage of development at which the coconut was picked. Tribu
use many different types carefully selected from all over the world for
our different products. Rings and ear rings are made from the puttee, a
smaller relative of the coconut (each ring from a different nut) and belts
from the larger coconut.
Horn
Usually
black but can also be translucent grey with an orange- or greenish tint.
It polishes to a very shiny finish and is both strong and durable due to
the fibrous structure of the material. Horn is made primarily from keratin
fibrous material similar to that found in nails, hair and feathers.
Our horn is sourced from the domestic water buffalo, used throughout Africa and Asia as a working animal and also for it's meat and milk. NOT to be confused with the great American buffalo, which is an endangered species. Horn is regarded as a by-product of this animal's domestic capacity.
Bone
White
or cream-coloured with a similar finish to horn and can be slightly more
brittle but still a strong material. Bone is largely composed of the mineral
calcium carbonate. Sourced from domestic cows, a by-product of the meat
and leather industry, which would normally be discarded.