I saw an amazing display of Koa today. Koa logs, Koa sawn in two inch planks, Koa out of the Kiln and sawn to luthier's thickness. And I heard an amazing and encouraging story of re-planting, sustainable harvest and visionary thinking.
Pacific Rim Tonewoods and Taylor Guitars have partnered with folks on Maui to form Paniolo Tonewoods. The mission is to reforest Maui with Koa. Notice the identification number that Art is pointing to on this big Koa slab. That same number is on the stump that the plank was cut from a couple of months ago on Maui's high country. If the partners decide that slab has good figure, they will direct their Maui partners to harvest the little shoots that will soon be growing to of that stump. The shoots will be sent to a nursery or lab that can multiply it into more shoots-but with roots that will then be replanted in Maui's up country- fenced off from marauding cattle, pigs and deer. There it will grow and with it's genetic inclination to develop figure, in thirty years it will be a valuable harvestable tree. Wow, what a concept. The folks at Pacific Rim believe that high figure in Koa and in Maple is a genetic trait and can be propagated by man. If they are right, they are on track to produce on a large scale, some of nature's most beautiful woods. Fiddleback maple, flame Koa, farmed like corn or apples.
Wow what a concept! thrilling to think about.
Wow what a concept! thrilling to think about.
And now to make some of you ukulele builders drool, here are a few of the tenor ukulele sets cut from this treasure trove of wood.
If you want to learn more- go to the website of Paniolo Tonewoods. It is a wonderful story.
If you want to learn more- go to the website of Paniolo Tonewoods. It is a wonderful story.
