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At the
Gaia Way one of our main concerns is the restoration of
the Music Tree (aka, Pernambuco tree or Pau Brazil Tree).
Today, the pernambuco tree is the sole source of high quality
musical bows.
But before the Europeans discovered it, it was used by
the native Indians who called it "red stick"
and used it as a dye (to color their ceremonial
features), for weapons (because of its tensile strength)
and as medicine. "Braza" which gave
Brazil and brazil wood their names, is an Arabic word
meaning bright red. Thus, Brazil gets its name from this
colorful tree.
Here is a list of
related links.
Organizations
International
Pernambuco Conservation Initiative
Pau
Brazil Conservation Project:
This project is essentially a fundraising initiative
which will hopefully involve violin makers, bow makers and instrument conservators
alike in the preservation of the Pau Brazil Tree which
is central to the classical music tradition. It will
involve the publication and distribution of a
collaborative work on the repair, restoration and
conservation of stringed instruments and their bows. All
proceeds are to go towards the promotion of the
preservation and the sustainable use of Pernambuco,
Global
Trees The Global Trees Campaign aims to save the
world's most threatened tree species and their habitats
through information, conservation and wise use. The
campaign focuses on trees as flagship species for
conservation of ecosystems and landscapes, and enables
local people to carry out rescue and sustainable use
operations. We are working in partnership with
organizations around the world to save endangered trees.
The Pau Brazil tree is one of the trees in this
campaign.
Forest
Stewardship Council FSC is an international,
non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting
responsible management of the world's forests. It was
founded in 1993 in response to public concern about
deforestation and demand for a trustworthy wood-labeling
scheme. There are national working groups in 28
countries including the UK. FSC UK is supported by NGOs including WWF, Green
Peace, Friends of the Earth and the Woodland Trust
Future
Forests is a UK-based company with a global vision:
to protect the earth's climate. It recognizes that to
some degree we all contribute to global warming - but
also that we can all do something to slow it down. They
enable people and companies to calculate how much carbon
dioxide they produce; providing them with
straightforward ways of reducing those emissions, and
interesting options for 'neutralizing' what can't be
reduced through tree planting or alternative fuel and
construction practices.
Amainan
Brazil Their educational
program was developed from a cooperative work between
Amainan Brazil and FFI, contemplating 250 children. The
main goal of the program is to convey environment values
to the children regarding the use of wood as well as the
importance of the wood certification.
UNEP
The UNEP-WCMC Trees Database and World List of
Threatened Trees (1998) are the main products of a
three-year project on the Conservation and Sustainable
Management of Trees, funded by the Government of the
Netherlands.
SoundWood
Over 70 threatened tree species are used in the
manufacture of musical instruments such as guitars,
violins, clarinets etc. are threatened with extinction
in the wild. FFI's SoundWood program aims to conserve
these valuable tree species. The Pau Brazil tree is
featured in this program.
Tree2MyDoor
A joint effort of Soundwood and Amainan in the UK to
raise money to conserve 4 endangered Brazilian trees,
including the Pau Brazil tree.
Articles
Living
on earth article.
Saving
the music tree by Russ Rymer (Smithsonian Magazine,
April, 2004) offers a rich perspective on the question
of saving the Pernambuco tree from extinction.
Brazilian
Tree Gets a Bear Hug from the LA Times, May 7, 2004.
Explains the efforts of bow makers world wide, such as
Yung Chin of NYC, and ecologists such as Brazil's Ana
Cristina Roldau, to save the Pernambuco tree, both for Brazil's
national heritage and for the future of bow making.
Making
a Great Bow: Floriano Schaeffer has been working
with Pau Brasil for more than three decades, first in
his early teens cutting wood for an exporter, and then
later learning the art of bow-making. Today he owns one
of four bow-making companies in Brazil.
Violinists
become tree huggers. Nov 6, 2004.
 Other
References
Acros
Brazil Guide through the
research made by the Biologist Haroldo Cavalcante de
Lima and the History Professor Marcio Werneck da
Cunha.
Pernambuco
(Pau Brazil) by Yurij Bihun (Woodwork Magazine, April,
2000)
The Pernambuco Program, the 2003 agreement among
NGO's, cacao-growers, and the International Pernambuco
Conservation Initiative, on a 5 year plan to promote
conservation and sustainable production. In its first 5
years, this program is expected to restore 10% of all
the trees destroyed since 1500 in the Atlantic
Rainforest! The complete agreement requires Adobe
Acrobat and will take a few moments to load: English
version -- Portuguese
version
Brazilian
government hearings on problems of the
Pernambuco
industry. Aired on national TV in Brazil in fall, 2002.
Transcription from DVD by Don Reinfeld
 Pernambuco,
a poem by Linda
Reinfeld
Eastman
Strings: a contributor to the work of the IPCI.
Indian
Folklore: interesting facts about the Pernambuco
tree's early history.
Arkive
- Facts and figures about the Pau Brazil tree.
Russ
Rymer is a amateur cellist whose interest in music
prompted the Smithsonian article about the Pernambuco
tree. He is working on a new book entitled Out of
Pernambuco.
Alcoa
- sponsors a project to plant Pau Brazil trees.
Bow
Makers and Bow Sellers
Don
Renfield, bow maker.
Eastman
Strings - bow maker and supporter of IPCI.
Sponsored planting 1000 trees.
McFiddles
Bow Makers
Gainesville
Violins - has good information about Pernambuco
bows
Marco
Raposo - Brazilian bow maker and ecologist
How
Bows Are Made
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