Product Information

Teak

Well known for its weather resistant properties and decorative grain, teak is one of the world’s premier hardwood timbers. It is native to the Far East, growing naturally only in India, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. Additionally, plantation grown teak has been successfully established in parts of tropical Asia as well as in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, making teak the preeminent plantation hardwood specie in tropical latitudes.

Teak trees grow up to 40 metres tall, becoming impervious to all weather conditions once nearing maturity due to their high natural oil content. It’s this unique durability, together with the aesthetic qualities of the wood, that has made mature teak such a valuable commercial commodity. Teak is mainly used in outdoor applications including shipbuilding and construction, whilst youngerteak is much in demand for furniture and other indoor applications.

Although it is often regarded as a rain forest species, Teak actually requires very specific weather patterns in order to produce timber of high value. The conditions in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand are widely regarded as the best in the world. In these countries the natural cyclonic or monsoon rainfall consistently produces wood with qualities that are currently highly sought after and, as a result, command far higher premiums in the market place.

In Sri Lanka the natural effects of wet seasons followed by annual dry seasons produces excellent qualities in the heartwood in terms of grain and weather hardiness - exactly the types of qualities bulk buyers are looking for.

Due to the lack of required dry seasons, trees grown in countries such as Brazil will not have the same qualities as tress of a similar age from Sri Lanka. The wood from trees grown in those countries without the benefit of a climate such as Sri Lanka’s will appear much greener in colour, and as a result will be not nearly as attractive to buyers. A point underlined by the average sawn teak log prices published by the ITTO which value Brazil Teak amongst the lowest in the world.

All of our teak trees are grown from tissue culture and selected certified seed which, when cultivated using our intensive husbandry methods, can be harvested within 9 and 20 year cycles – much faster than for open-pollinated seedlings from the same trees.

Agarwood

Even by rainforest standards, the aquilaria tree is remarkable. It isn’t so much the tree, but what is deep inside it. Aquilaria produces a rich and resinous heartwood, called “agarwood,” also known as the “Wood of the Gods”. Agarwood has been traded globally for centuries. This rich, resinous wood is used for incense, as well as medicinal purposes and the pure resin in its distilled form is widely used in the perfume industry. Its value is both curative and religious; the Japanese donate flowers and agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and it is also used by faith healers use it in the Far East.

By the early 1990s, the aquilaria tree had been harvested to near extinction in Southeast Asia, and was classified as an endangered species and placed on the CITIES list making it illegal to harvest in the natural forests. So a drive began to replace the trees in the natural forest driven by private sector investment in commercial sustainable plantations. The aquilaria tree can be harvested as early as year six/seven and therefore allows for much earlier returns when compared to teak.

The resinous heartwood is produced by the tree as a defence mechanism and natural response to fight off a disease that occurs naturally among the tree population.  One problem however, is that not every aquilaria tree will become infected with the disease and thus produce agarwood. This lead scientists to search for a solution to ensure that all commercial aquilaria trees planted on plantations could produce the resinous heartwood. Nine years ago, a team from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota developed a cultivated version of the tree to provide a sustainable crop. Working in co-operation with the Rainforest Project Foundation, supported by the European Commission, wood biologist Robert Blanchette from Minnesota University has developed a successful method of forming resin in young plantation aquilaria trees, which is now commercially available. Thus there is now a real alternative to the exploitation of the natural forests. All across Southeast Asia, fast-growing aquilaria trees are being planted in large numbers to sustain the market demand which can no longer be met from natural reserves.

Utilising this modern technology, our plantation partner is now growing aquilaria trees at its plantations in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. The plantation company waits for the trees to be four to five years old before stimulating them to produce agarwood. The trees can then be harvested, realising a financial return in just six years, allowing the sustainable replanting process to start again.

Bamboo

Bamboo as an investment combines the environmentally conscious aspect of sustainable forestry investment with the enhanced financial benefit of delivering annual returns from the 2nd year of planting with multiple revenue streams. Unlike some traditional hardwood forestry, bamboo is the fastest growing land-based plant on the planet and so can be commercially harvested for timber, pulp and bio mass from year 4, and harvested for bamboo shoots for food as early as 12 months after being planted. Being such a fast-growing plant, commercial harvests occur annually, delivering investors annual returns; perfect for regular income and from a truly sustainable source. The bamboo harvest therefore supplies dual makets; food and timber and does so on a local and global scale.
 
Bamboo has a higher tensile strength than most steels and so is widely used across Asia in the growing construction industry. Scaffolding and structural support is a major application, whilst over a billion people already live in houses made of bamboo. It also produces one of the best quality and hardest wearing timber floorings now used globally by major retailers such as B&Q in the UK as sustainably sourced product. Bamboo is also used in textiles, clothing production, cosmetics and medicines.

Bamboo is not only a material for housing, furniture, handicrafts, banana props, fishing, and chopsticks production; it is also a vegetable, which generates good income for both domestic and foreign markets. Bamboo shoots contain 18 amino acids, it is low in carbohydrates, crude fat and crude fibre which make it an ideal vegetable for people who want to lose weight. Bamboo shoots are a staple ingredient in Asian diets and cuisine.