| For centuries, boat builders and furniture makers | | | | that it doesn't contribute to the destruction of Asia's |
| have preferred teak over any other hardwood | | | | rain forests or finance Burma's oppressive military |
| because of its tight grain pattern and innate stability. | | | | junta. |
| Unfortunately, teak's natural advantages came at a | | | | So what does cultivated properly mean, exactly? |
| high price. Now, the world's largest remaining teak | | | | Since the teak trees grown in other parts of the |
| forests are located in the country known as Burma -- | | | | world come directly from seedlings take from the |
| a place with a hideous environmental and human | | | | forests of Southeast Asia, we know that they're |
| rights record. | | | | genetically the same. The difference, of course, |
| Fortunately, the growing supply of plantation teak is | | | | comes in the form of not nature, but nurture. |
| beginning to erode Burma's grip on the teak | | | | Leading teak forestry companies practice what's |
| marketplace while at the same time driving down | | | | known as "slow growth" timber. Plantation sites are |
| prices. So, is a teak tree grown in say Latin America | | | | carefully selected to mimic the precipitation and soil |
| somehow inferior to the teak tree grown in Burma? | | | | characteristics of SE Asia. This allows teak plantations |
| Despite rumors to the contrary (often originating | | | | to cultivate timber without the use of irrigation. This |
| from those who wish to protect Asia's grip on the | | | | offers two primary benefits. First, it gives our |
| Teak trade), studies conducted by the USDA and | | | | plantation teak the same exotic grain patterns and |
| India's Forest Research Institute have found that | | | | durability that teak wood is famous for. Second, the |
| teak grown on plantations has equivalent, if not | | | | lack of irrigation reduces the ecological footprint of |
| identical properties to teak grown in Southeast Asia's | | | | forestry operations. |
| old-growth forests; it's certainly every bit as beautiful. | | | | Among the numerous environmental and social |
| And just like the old-growth teak imported from | | | | advantages of plantation teak, one of the most |
| Southeast Asia, plantation teak possesses the same | | | | compelling is price. Due to shorter shipping routes and |
| oily resins that resist moisture, termites, warping, and | | | | reliable production, plantation teak can often be |
| fungi. | | | | purchased at half the price of Burmese teak. That's a |
| In other words, when cultivated properly, plantation | | | | hard deal to beat -- especially when you consider all |
| teak is the same unique and stunning building material | | | | of the research. Buying Burmese teak is not only less |
| preferred by shipbuilders, furniture makers and | | | | affordable, it's borderline superstitious. |
| carpenters for centuries. The primary difference is | | | | |