| The premise of this article is to help | | | | still benefit from their bounty. The first is |
| facilitate an understanding of the | | | | using legal wood. Simply stated, legal wood |
| manufacturing process in using | | | | is felled and traded in accordance with the |
| environmentally prudent wood to produce | | | | law. The producing country is obliged to |
| djembe drums. Purchasing djembe drums that | | | | ensure compliance and enforcement of the laws |
| are made from legally harvested, sustainable | | | | and rules. To be certain that wood is legal, |
| wood help to protect our world's forests, | | | | its origin must be known and documented |
| assist in preserving and maintaining a | | | | through every step in the wood trade |
| well-balanced eco-system and help support | | | | process... from the felling of a tree to the |
| local economies. | | | | sale of the wood in a shop. |
| | | | |
| Our world is more connected than ever before. | | | | Sustainable wood is produced in a responsible |
| Modern technology has made the planet a | | | | way taking into account the environment, the |
| smaller place through cutting edge advances | | | | economy and social circumstances. This means, |
| such as e-mail, broadband, internet, fiber | | | | for example, not felling more trees than the |
| optics, and of course the iPhone. Along with | | | | forest can afford to lose; planting new trees |
| these advances comes information - lots and | | | | (reforestation); minimizing the damage caused |
| lots of information. Just pull up your | | | | to other trees and plants; safeguarding |
| favorite web browser and type in 'Global | | | | biological diversity (i.e. the range of |
| Warming' and you'll see that Google has | | | | animals, plants and microorganisms) and |
| indexed roughly 72,400,000 web sites that | | | | taking into account the impact on the soil, |
| contain those keywords. Type in 'Legal Wood' | | | | water, landscape and ecosystems. |
| and you'll see an impressive 21,600,000 web | | | | |
| sites found. And hey, it posted those results | | | | We Can All Make A Difference |
| in just .07 seconds. Now, that's fast! | | | | |
| However, even with all this speed and | | | | When shopping for a djembe drum it's |
| information, I was hard pressed to find any | | | | important to know the source of the wood so |
| decent content on the kind of wood used in | | | | you can make a more educated decision. |
| manufacturing traditionally based djembes. | | | | Purchasing djembe drums that are made from |
| Not only that, but I couldn't tell which | | | | legally harvested, sustainable wood help |
| companies were using legal wood, the benefits | | | | protect our world's forests, assist in |
| of using legal wood, and the concerns with | | | | preserving and maintaining a well-balanced |
| using wood that wasn't legal. | | | | eco-system and help support local economies. |
| | | | Get the facts before buying and ask |
| We're in the Tree Business | | | | questions. It's your buying decision that |
| | | | helps shape the world in which we live. |
| The traditional djembe is made from wood. And | | | | |
| many of the djembe drums that are available | | | | How to Find a Djembe of Legally Harvested |
| for purchase in this country are imported | | | | Wood |
| from Indonesia, Thailand, and Africa. In fact | | | | |
| most of the African djembe drums sold in the | | | | Find a retailer that works only with |
| U.S.A. are actually made in Indonesia where, | | | | environmentally friendly suppliers that can |
| according to Indonesian Department of | | | | prove a Government certification process. Ask |
| Forestry, the deforestation rate since 1998 | | | | to see a copy of the supplier's certificate |
| is estimated at 2.8 million hectares (7 | | | | of approval that shows the local government |
| million acres) per year. During the last 30 | | | | has inspected the wood, verified it to be |
| years, the world's tropical rainforests have | | | | legal wood, and granted permission to move |
| shrunk by 25% around 12.3 million hectares of | | | | the wood from the area where it was cut to a |
| forest. Agriculture and the trade in tropical | | | | different area for manufacturing. In order to |
| wood are the main causes of deforestation. | | | | get this far in the certification process, |
| | | | loggers or tree owners would need to have a |
| Unfortunately, many companies (small and | | | | license to cut the trees and the Government |
| large) in this country still knowingly import | | | | has inspected the trees to be cut and |
| wood that is neither sustainable nor legal. | | | | certified that they are legal. |
| For instance, in an article posted by the | | | | |
| Chicago Tribune, at a Lowe's annual meeting | | | | If the supplier has this certificate and is |
| last May of 2006, a shareholder proposed that | | | | also the manufacturer of your djembe, then |
| the company issue an annual report on | | | | you can feel confident knowing that you are |
| progress toward its environmental pledges. | | | | able to trace the wood of your djembe back to |
| The company's board of directors disagreed | | | | the Forestry department. |
| and unanimously recommended a vote against | | | | |
| the proposal. Why? It's much more expensive | | | | X8 Hand Drums works only with environmentally |
| to secure wood that is legal and sustainable | | | | friendly suppliers that can prove a |
| than illegally harvested wood which can be | | | | Government certification process. Our |
| acquired cheaply. Buying illegal wood helps | | | | manufacturer in Indonesia uses government |
| corporations keep their expenses down and | | | | inspected legally harvested wood and we have |
| profits up, however in the meantime they're | | | | a copy of their certificate from the |
| contributing to an unsound environmental | | | | Indonesian Government. |
| policy that is both harmful and destructive. | | | | |
| | | | Find a huge selection of hand-carved, |
| Legally Certified Timber - The Green Way! | | | | environmentally friendly djembe drums from a |
| | | | hand drum specialty shop that aims to please |
| The good news is that there are many | | | | percussionists with quality instruments, |
| certifications and processes that are in | | | | knowledgeable staff and community. |
| place to properly protect our forests and yet | | | | |