Namibia is not only well known for its oldest desert, but also for its oldest trees. The Ana Tree (Faidherbia Albida) can become older than 100 years and grows in river beds, which only occasionally receive water. In times of drought it it happens, that these majestic trees dry up and eventually die. The bark falls off and underneath it all a beautiful light golden coloured inner surfaces. The tree then fractures into pieces and falls onto the ground and therefore adds to the risk of veld fire.
That’s why, most of the time it gets hacked into firewood. However, it’s not the greatest braai wood, it makes no proper coal – in comparison to Camelthorn wood, which is quite hard and solid.
Ana wood is rather light, and one of the least dense woods in the world, so it’s easy to carry. An astonishing fact about the Ana Tree as well as other acacias: Its seed is not able to grow on its own as any other tree. It needs to move through an antelope’s digestive system first, and only is able to germinate in the dung when it starts raining. This is why the Ana Tree’s reddish pod is one of the most prefered food sources for African antelopes.
We found a solution to collect the dead wood and utilize it by making a social impact to the environment. Meaning, removing the unwanted wood from the grasslands, but instead of burning it – creating locally handcrafted furniture and interior decor items.
The bushmen have the saying, that every tree carries a story. If an old tree burns down, its entire library burns with it.
We preserve parts of the tree in order to decorate homes with our extravagant interior items. This way, the story of the tree may continue.
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