It was the end of October 2018 when Storm Vaia swept across northern Italy and destroyed more than 42,000 hectares of woodland across Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. An extreme weather event that left wounds still visible today. It was precisely from this devastation that, in 2019, VAIA was born — a Società Benefit certified B Corp that chose to turn a compromised resource into an opportunity for the territory's rebirth.

The project starts from a simple idea: salvage the wood from trees felled by the storm, transform it into design objects through the work of local craftspeople, and use part of the proceeds to fund new planting. Today, eight years after the storm, VAIA has contributed to the planting of more than 200,000 new trees, recovering over 500 tonnes of wood and involving more than 20 small and medium-sized enterprises in a supply chain that connects artisans, forestry workers and local communities.

How the VAIA model works

The first product to emerge from the VAIA project was the VAIA Cube, a natural smartphone amplifier made from the wood of fir trees felled by the storm. An object that requires no electricity and amplifies sound thanks to its distinctive shape. Over time, new solutions followed, including VAIA Focus, which combines salvaged wood with a Fresnel optical lens to enlarge a smartphone screen, without using any electronic components or external power.

Every product represents a way of giving a second life to materials that would otherwise risk being lost, while keeping economic value within the territory. Most importantly, every VAIA Cube and VAIA Focus sold corresponds to the planting of a new tree in the Dolomites, in the areas hit by the storm. A commitment that translates into concrete reforestation efforts and, through collaboration with forestry bodies and local communities, contributes to the rebuilding of mountain ecosystems.

Regeneration reaches Puglia too

Today the VAIA model is spreading beyond the territories where it was born, reaching Puglia as well, where the Xylella bacterium has devastated millions of olive trees and transformed the landscape of Salento. Here the company is working to recover the wood from trees affected by the bacterium, adding value to it through the development of new materials. One example is Olive Matter, a biocomposite derived from olive wood, used to make the VAIA Cover, a smartphone case. Here too, each purchase is linked to an environmental action: for every cover sold, VAIA contributes to the regeneration of one square metre of Mediterranean scrubland in the municipality of Specchia, in the province of Lecce.

The project's goal is to reach 20,000 square metres of regenerated land. A development that shows how the model built in the wake of Storm Vaia can find application in different territories and environmental contexts.
«For us, every anniversary is a moment to look at what we have built, but above all to ask ourselves what more we can do to give back more than we take», says Federico Stefani, co-founder and president of VAIA. A vision that, eight years after the storm, continues to place the recovery of resources, the involvement of communities, and the possibility of building new opportunities from the fragility of territories at its very heart.