The Albanu Foundation

From the magic of Mother Nature to the elegance of an ethical art craft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mission

 

Hunted for its defenses, stripped of the wild nature that saw it grow, the elephant sees its herd shrinking like a horse in East Africa. Punctuated by the flourishing conflicts here and there between human tribes, the life of this pachyderm is dwindling there, trapped in the ambitions of ivory-hungry poachers and the needs of peasants defending an agricultural land increasingly greedy in territory.

Fortunately, some specimens have found a way to thrive in the middle of the steppes of southern Africa within benevolent reserves, a true refuge where the species was reborn.  Nevertheless, any benevolence comes with a price that it ends up being impossible to ignore and it is a victim of its success that the African elephant once again attracts the wrath of poachers and farmers.

Indeed, the majestic animal wanders in increasing numbers out of the harbour brought into the world by the employees of the reserves, only to have to extend its sanctuary to the fields of the region, making it the prey of humans not inclined to give up their livelihood.  Unfortunately, some individuals of the herd flourishing within the reserves do not know a better fate since the pachyderm encounters an overpopulation that the healers must control.

The Albanu Foundation was created to contribute to the building of harmony between man and animal.  Based in South Africa, our organization is the crystallization of a love full of admiration that accompanies a deep respect for this mammoth descendant and his fragile ecosystem. The double vow, formulated by its founders and heirs that are today its active members, is the image of the struggle conducted for these creatures: pragmatic and ideological.

Pragmatic, first of all because it is a question of raising awareness among local and foreign populations of the problems that the disappearance of the elephant would pose in terms of natural balance, but also of raising the necessary funds to remove the spectre of such a situation.

Ideological then since it is all the poetry of a single species and the symbolism attached to it in a multitude of cultures that it is essential to protect.

 

Our Raison d'être

Beyond the wonderful symbolism carried by the African elephant, it is the impossible gravity of the disappearance of this creature whose fragile ecosystem demands survival that convinced The Albanu Foundation to continue its efforts and even expand them.

Of an attempt to rescue and accompany the pachyderms of the continent towards a harmonious and perennial way of life with the species they rub, of which Man is part, the mission of the foundation has been transformed into an initiative covering all endangered species on African soil.

 

The elegance of bracelets of a most honorable symbolism

It is through words of unwavering benevolence that we can guess a passionate founder in the person of Margaux Claret, at the origin of the project The Albanu Foundation. To offer a chance to endure to beings whose exceptional stature hides a touching fragility: this is the objective of Margaux, true lover of the descendants of the Mammoth, silent witnesses of a past climate that did not yet bear the imprint of Man.

The committed and unique character of this approach echoes the original aesthetics of a jeweler with a singular work, a legacy that survived the inimitable style of René Albanu’s jewellery, born in a workshop between the two wars where steel, gold and diamond were already intertwined. Giving birth to "lucky bracelets" inviting the senses and imagination to embark together on a journey that still lasts today, the artisan jeweller.

 

Animal Welfare and a Sustainable Approach: Albanu’s Caring Ethic

The ethics carried from its beginnings by the aesthetics of Albanu has found its way into the unique creations of personalities such as Alain Delon and the Prince of Monaco. It is by celebrating the art and grace of the elephant that Maison Albanu was able to give life to the shelter that is The Albanu Foundation for the creature she loves. The payment to the benevolent organization of 10% of the revenues from its sales is indeed the way for the House to contribute to living the source of inspiration that are elephants.

www.thealbanufoundation.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

New surveillance technologies

 

Taking care of a creature as wonderful and imposing as the elephant without becoming an obstacle to its fulfillment is not easy. To accompany him in his daily life, The Albanu Foundation has surrounded itself with collaborators whose know-how is a discreet window but well open to their world. Through the eyes of a swarm of drones deployed by The Albanu Foundation we are able to prevent the tragedies too often orchestrated by unscrupulous poachers.

 

Our solution is also the first step of the foundation towards the realization of a broader design: to protect the endangered species of an Africa that sees its biodiversity die a little more day by day. True opportunity offered to the natural benevolence of a humanity more in harmony with its ecosystem to reveal itself, This approach, using cutting-edge technology for a meaningful cause, could only have come about at the price of a constant investment that Albanu is happy to make, bracelet after bracelet.

 

From cameras equipped with facial recognition and body detection systems to connected objects of all kinds, the digital artifacts imagined by Anyvision now dress up drones and intervention vehicles to silently pave the way for the beloved elephants. Thus able to explore the dusty trails that these creatures take day after day with their fantastic memory and infinite grace, the foundation bears witness to an initiatory journey: the renewal of inspiring species essential to the balance of a world that future generations deserve to meet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New tracking technologies

 

Inhabiting the places of wandering, beyond the area that the reserve keeps under its protection, the dangers waiting for the elephant are numerous. The stealthy technicality of our solution is, in this respect, a precious help since it is the crystallization of the discreet prudence that the foundation needs to carry out its mission.

 

Far from the heavy constraints that were hitherto represented by the location collars imposed on the animals, the miniaturized trackers, developed in association with the southern society-African Silotron, are an alternative combining comfort for its wearer and efficiency for the creature’s tracking team.

 

Offering all the information necessary to prevent the damage that an elephant can cause by accident on the agricultural lands around it, these miniaturized tools are likely to lay the foundations for a serene cohabitation between pachyderms and local populations.

 

 

 

Anti-poaching platform

 

However, as ingenious as these devices are, they do not protect their hosts alone from the pervasive threat of poaching.

 

It is to compensate for this lack that the information forages composing the flying sentry are equipped with a terminal communicating by terminals with the human intervention teams criss-crossing the field, ready to intervene at any time. Accompanied by a creature with a propeller of another kind, these protectors have the means to intercept the members of the herd, when their lives are at stake.

 

This original and peaceful armada can thus block the road to poachers by limiting the escalation that a conventional balance of power could trigger.

 

Accompanied by an artificial intelligence follow-up called DIGITAL TWINS, the foundation thus sets up a digital reserve. This will provide a window on the possible movements of pachyderms in order to anticipate their movements and prevent any possibility of danger to the animal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethical creations


Craftsmanship sometimes offers to combine unbridled creativity with technical prowess celebrating human know-how. This is especially the case when the hands of the artisans of the Albanu House are busy around the elephants' hair delicately harvested from the ground in order to respect an original work ethic combining non-violent approach and authentic tribute to this animal totem.

With its own CITES, every creation that comes out of the workshops Albanu receives the guarantee of the strictest compliance with the Washington Convention governing trade in protected species.

The bracelets signed Albanu are thus accompanied by a guarantee of traceability on each of the natural materials used in their manufacture, that is to say:
- Elephant & Giraffe hair from 4 African countries (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana)
- Horsehair from Mongolia
- Buffalo horn from Vietnamese breeding

From the sales team to the management of Albanu, all the Maison’s employees join its artisans to express a common pride, born from a base of values crowned by a unique aesthetic: those of the timeless lucky charm bracelets in elephant hair.