Jodie Monteiro

Jodie Teresa Monteiro is the founder of Ferticlay, a company dedicated to rechannelling food waste into clay materials for industrial applications.

She founded Ferticlay because she was particularly intrigued by the emotional and non-tangible ties we have with the earth's materials, and aims to use creative exploration to help transcend those connections into reality, all the while respecting the earth and its value.

The first step in the Ferticlay journey was taken with a simple paper clay recipe she found online. The ingredients of what was a good but wasteful DIY recipe was substituted for natural materials that almost anyone can find in their homes. And so began her process of uncovering the value and beauty of everyday waste materials that we often overlook.

From the tactile experience of mixing the ingredients to make the clay, to conducting workshops where participants work with their hands, Jodie has many ways in which she is in touch with the earth through her work. Ferticlay is now in a phase of exploration and R&D, and on the lookout for more partners to develop new products to solve pressing environmental and social issues that touch our lives.