Our Story

Sisaltech was founded by John Ferguson in 2012 when he was working with small-scale farmers in Tanzania. It was there that he became aware of the versatile and sustainable sisal crop and decided to explore its many uses back on home soil. After discovering the material’s
amazing thermal qualities, Sisaltech was established to further explore and develop into the insulation market.

Fast forward a few years and we now produce one of the lowest carbon, high-quality sustainable thermal insulation products on the market. We use virgin sisal imported from Tanzania and recycled sheep’s wool from the Harris Tweed industry as well as a starch-based binder which allows the product to be completely compostable.

We have sustainability at the forefront of all our decisions and consciously make every effort to be as low carbon and ethical as we possibly can be.

Our People

John Ferguson – Founder and Managing Director

John has an MSc in Tropical Agricultural Development and spent many years working with small-scale farmers in Africa helping them develop their farming practices. Whilst he was there, he became aware of the drought-resistant and very sustainable sisal plant that the farmers were often using as ‘back-up crops’ in case of drought. It was obvious to John that this crop could be the way small scale farmers are able to trade their way out of poverty and that is when The East Africa Sisal Company Ltd was founded.

James Hawes – Supply Chain Coordinator

James is a chemistry graduate from the University of St Andrews, with a passion for environmental and social sustainability. He enjoys ensuring that other people have the resources and equipment they need for their work, making him a perfect fit as our supply chain coordinator.

VISION

Our vision is for buildings to be energy efficient and made from sustainable natural materials.

MISSION

We create innovative, technical, natural fibre insulation products to enable an easy switch to low carbon building materials while offering increased safety and comfort to installers.

PURPOSE

Our purpose is to help tackle the climate emergency.